Student: Alex Groher-Jick
Graduation date: May 2018
Type: Concentration (single major)
Date approved: October 2017
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Summary
Look here for my previous concentration, which focused more on international renewable energy policy and distribution.
Although access to modern energy systems and the services they provide is indisputably critical to achieving large-scale human development goals such as health and prosperity, there are about 1.4 billion people living without reliable electricity today (Caine et al. 2014). At the same time, the current world energy production is already causing irreversible environmental harm and degradation that not only poses ecological threats, but also threatens large human populations around the world (GEA 2012). The confluence of these two issues presents a dilemma: how can we provide energy to those who do not have it without exacerbating the already present environmental and ecological issues plaguing our planet?
Sustainable development with renewable energy sources seems to be the practical option, however, this comes with its share of problems. Foremost among these issues is that current renewable energy technologies are not as economically viable as readily available fossil fuels (McCluney 2003). Additionally, the technology is not yet efficient or reliable enough to provide a secure base load energy source, which is essential to developing energy infrastructure (ibid). Some argue that it is unethical to impose these currently insufficient renewable energy systems on the billions of people in the less-developed global south (Dirks et al. 2014). Kotzé claims that in the Anthropocene that we (debatably) now inhabit, humans have become the dominant geological and environmental force, thus inextricably connecting ourselves with the natural. As such, social issues have to factor into all environmental concerns, particularly those on the global stage, and approaches “to sustainability will have to be sensitive to global environmental justice issues between the North and the South” (Kotzé 2014, 153).
This issue is, of course, hardly confined to the international arena. With over half of the world’s population currently living in urban areas, and the rate of urbanization ever increasing (UN 2014), cities are becoming more influential actors on the global stage and their social and environmental effects more important to examine. In fact, the global nature of climate change and environmental degradation requires local responses and interventions in addition to international action (Alberti 2005; Kotzé 2014). Cities, however, house severe socioeconomic inequalities that necessitate attention, and which have to be balanced with sustainable development. Unfortunately, though, it has been argued that attempts at sustainable development can run counter to social interests in a given area when energy and investment is channeled toward things like low-carbon infrastructure as opposed to things benefiting a city’s vulnerable populations (Goodling et al. 2014, Hodson and Marvin 2010, Cugurullo 2016).
The majority of current conceptions of international renewable resource proliferation and sustainable development center around the ideals presented in the Brundtland Report of 1987. This report explains that for the world to develop sustainably (thus preserving it for future generations), it is the responsibility of economically and technologically developed nations to provide clean energy technology for the periphery to utilize in their own development (Brundtland et al. 1987). Redclift criticizes this type of thinking and suggests that sustainable development is part of a neo-liberal agenda that dictates that we had a “right” to develop the way we did and currently developing nations do not (Redclift 2005). Especially because the majority of the blame for climate change should be attributed to neo-liberal economics and politics proliferated by the global north (Chakrabarty 2009). For this reason, some call for the abandonment of stubbornly entrenched ideas about sustainability and sustainable development, in turn advocating for resiliency, which could better guide policy decisions (Benson & Craig 2014). I will investigate the possibility that rising energy consumption due to the development of peripheral nations is not a threat to the environment, rather it is an opportunity for innovation in the field of clean energy (Shellenberger and Nordhaus 2015).
The amount and success of innovation will hinge on the support of various economic and political policies, both national and international (Noailly and Smeets 2015). I will examine the ways that various policies in these rapidly developing nations can help to mitigate the obstacles to renewable resources and make clean energy a viable option for development (Jenkins and Mansur 2011). Policies that have proven fruitful include feed-in tariffs (Cory et al. 2009; Lesser and Su 2007; Smith and Urpelainen 2014), local content requirements, financial and tax incentives, and research and development support (Lewis and Wiser 2006). Unfortunately, these types of policy that have proven to be successful require substantial demand markets (Lewis and Wiser 2006, GEA 2012), which requires an established economy. In other words, they do not apply to many peripheral and semiperipheral nations. It is partially for this reason that some believe that undeveloped countries should be allowed to establish themselves industrially and economically, which will likely require the use of fossil fuels, before they can work to become reliant on renewables.
How can renewable energy, sustainable development, and policy be adapted (or perhaps it needs a total revamping) in a way that supports vulnerable populations in the Anthropocene we have created, rather than perpetuating inequalities globally and locally?
Situated context
World-systems theory divides the world into a three-part framework: core, periphery, and semi-periphery. (Wallerstein 2004). Not all countries in each category are alike, however, this framework adequately encompasses the complexities of international energy development and all of its interrelations.
Core nations have played the role of technology donors, an international policy that has not been very fruitful. Many of these countries, such as the US have recently adopted clean energy policies such as trade-in tariffs made possible by their established economies and markets. Cities such as Portland often experience urban sustainable development and eco-gentrification (Goodling et al. 2014).
Semiperipheral nations have been developing quickly because of heavy reliance on fossil fuels, yet development of renewables is stimulated by the lack of structural deterrents that plague the core (Dirks et al. 2014). These nations face strong international pressure to develop sustainably despite needing to focus on internal social issues that are often the effects of neoliberalism. Chile, for example, has displaced indigenous populations under the guise of development.
Peripheral nations, mostly in the global south, could benefit from improved energy infrastructure- neither limited to nor excluding clean energy- in order to improve human development standards. These countries include many African and Middle Eastern nations which have received criticism for (often) rapidly growing populations. They are under pressure from international organizations to develop into neoliberal markets.
References
Alberti, Marina. 2005. “The Effects of Urban Patterns on Ecosystem Function.” International Regional Science Review 28 (2): 168–92. doi:10.1177/0160017605275160.
Benson, Melinda Harm, and Robin Kundis Craig. 2014. “The End of Sustainability.” Society & Natural Resources 27 (7): 777–82. doi:10.1080/08941920.2014.901467.
Brundtland, Gru, Mansour Khalid, Susanna Agnelli, Sali Al-Athel, Bernard Chidzero, Lamina Fadika, Volker Hauff et al. 1987. “Our Common Future.”
Caine, Mark, Jason Lloyd, Max Luke, Lisa Margonelli, Todd Moss, Ted Nordhaus, Roger Pielke Jr, et al. 2014. “Our High-Energy Planet.” http://fletcher.tufts.edu/~/media/Fletcher/Microsites/CIERP/Publications/2014/Our-High-Energy-Planet_DOC.pdf.
Chakrabarty, Dipesh. 2009. “The Climate of History: Four Theses.” Critical Inquiry 35 (2): 197-222.
Cory, Karlynn S., Toby Couture, and Claire Kreycik. 2009. Feed-in Tariff Policy: Design, Implementation, and RPS Policy Interactions. National Renewable Energy Laboratory. http://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy09osti/45549.pdf.
Cugurullo, Federico. 2016. “Urban Eco-Modernisation and the Policy Context of New Eco-City Projects: Where Masdar City Fails and Why.” Urban Studies 53 (11): 2417–33.
Dirks, Gary, Loren King, Frank Laird, Jason Lloyd, Jessica Lovering, Ted Nordhaus, Roger Pielke Jr, et al. 2014. “High-Energy Innovation – A climate Pragmatism Project.” http://sciencepolicy.colorado.edu/admin/publication_files/2014.49.pdf.
GEA. 2012. “Global Energy Assessment: Toward a Sustainable Future.” In. http://www.globalenergyassessment.org/.
Goodling, Erin. Jamaal Green and Nathan McClintock. 2014. “Uneven development of the sustainable city: shifting capital in Portland, Oregon.” Urban Geography, 36 (4) 504-527.
Hodson, Michael, and Simon Marvin. 2010. “Urbanism in the anthropocene: Ecological urbanism or premium ecological enclaves?” City, 14(3): 298–313.
Jenkins, Jesse, and Sara Mansur. 2011. “Valleys of Death: Helping American Entrepreneurs Meet the Nation’s Energy Innovation Imperative.” http://thebreakthrough.org/blog/Valleys_of_Death.pdf.
Kotzé, Louis. 2014. “Rethinking Global Environmental Law and Governance in the Anthropocene.” Journal of Energy and Natural Resource Law 32 (2).
Lewis, Joanna I., and Ryan H. Wiser. 2006. “Fostering a Renewable Energy Technology Industry: An International Comparison of Wind Industry Policy Support Mechanisms.” Energy Policy 35 (August): 1844–57.
Lesser, Jonathan A., and Xuejuan Su. 2007. “Design of an Economically Efficient Feed-In Tariff Structure For Renewable Energy Development.” Energy Policy 36 (December): 981–90.
Madrigal, Marcelino, Stoft, and Steven. 2012. “Transmition Expansion for Renewable Energy Scale Up: Emerging Lessons and Recommendations.” In World Bank Studies: Transmition Expansion for Renewable Energy Scale Up: Emerging Lessons and Recommendations, xiii – xviii. World Bank Publications.
McCluney, Ross. 2003. “Renewable Energy Limits.” The Final Energy Crisis 153-175. http://www.fsec.ucf.edu/en/publications/pdf/FSEC-GP-216-03.pdf.
Noailly, Joëlle, and Roger Smeets. 2015. “Directing Technical Change from Fossil-Fuel to Renewable Energy Innovation: An Application Using Firm-Level Patent Data.” Journal of Environmental Economics and Management 72 (July): 15–37. doi:10.1016/j.jeem.2015.03.004.
Redclift, Michael. 2005. “Sustainable Development (1987-2005): An Oxymoron Comes of Age.” Sustainable Development 13 (4): 212–27. doi:10.1002/sd.281.
Shellenberger, Michael, and Ted Nordhaus. 2015. “How to Strand Assets – Nature-Saving Through Disruptive Technological Change.” Accessed October 6. http://thebreakthrough.org/voices/michael-shellenberger-and-ted-nordhaus/how-to-strand-assets.
Smith, Michael G., and Johannes Urpelainen. 2014. “The Effect of Feed-In Tariffs on Renewable Electricity Generation: An Instrumental Variables Approach.” Environmental and Resource Economics 57 (3): 367–92.
United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. 2014. World Urbanization Prospects: The 2014 Revision, CD-ROM Edition.
U.S. Energy Information Administration. 2013. “International Energy Outlook 2013.” Washington, DC: DOE/EIA-0484 (July).
Wallerstein, Immanuel Maurice. 2004. World-Systems Analysis: An Introduction. Duke University Press.
Questions
Descriptive: What are the current policies in place regarding sustainable development internationally and on the urban level? What are the attitudes in different countries/regions toward energy development and clean energy development in particular? Where have renewable resources been successfully implemented? What is the current state of renewable resource technology? What does sustainable development
Explanatory: To what degree are these policies influenced by countries’ attitudes and social dynamics? How does market demand affect the success of clean energy proliferation?
Evaluative: Are current international environmental policies making progress and for whom? Should rapidly developing nations be encouraged to use clean, renewable resources? Can clean energy policies help with a country’s development? Does international climate policy impede on national social progress? Who does sustainable development benefit internationally and on an urban scale?
Instrumental: What would help fuel clean energy innovation/sustainable development? What should be the role of core, economically and technologically advanced nations in helping lesser-developed nations develop? How can environmental policy aid instead of hurt social agendas?
Concentration courses
- ENVS 460 (Topics in Environmental Law and Policy, 4 credits), fall 2015. As this course introduces how environmental issues are viewed through legal and policy based perspectives, it will be useful to understanding various policies related to sustainable development both in the US and abroad.
- ENVS 350 (Environmental Theory, 4 credits), spring 2016. Examining the ideas and assumptions underlying environmental thought and problem solving will give me a good background on which to understand the issues of environmental inequity and sustainable development.
- Econ 260 (Technology, Institutions, and Economic Growth, 4 credits), spring 2016. Learning about the interactions between technology and institutions in times of economic growth will help me to understand the dimensions of sustainable development in growing economies.
- SOAN 282 (Pacific Rim Cities, 4 Credits) fall 2017. This class introduces theory on urban spaces, global cities, and the ways in which both are effected by current world systems. This encompasses relations between the global core, periphery and semi-periphery. It will also help me develop a vocabulary through which I can discuss urban centers as nodes of the international economy.
- GEND 231 (Gender and Sexuality in a Cross Cultural Perspective, 4 Credits) Spring 2017. This class focuses on power relations spanning scales of gender, culture, and national borders. It will help give me a theoretical basis from which to frame relations of power in terms of neoliberal sustainable development.
Arts and humanities courses
- PHIL 215 (Philosophy and the Environment, 4 credits). Pre-approved A&H course; no justification required.
- SPAN 321- This Spanish literature course focuses on Latin American literature and has a large focus on the relations between the Global North and South and the role of literature as resistance within US-Latin America relations. The works covered in this class help me to better understand the nature of the part of the world that I am studying.