Which author argues that renewable energy transitions can reproduce extractivist logics and perpetuate inequality?

• A. Nygren et al. (2022)
• B. Bruna (2022)
• C. Escobar (2020)
• D. Barbier (2021)

Answer: (B)

Renewable energy transitions are not automatically inclusive or just; they can reproduce extractivist logics through the very materials and processes that power clean energy. Bruna’s 2022 work centers on how the shift to wind, solar, and batteries requires vast mining of minerals like lithium, cobalt, nickel, and rare earths, often in regions with weak governance and limited local benefits. This reality means environmental harm, land dispossession, and social inequities can accompany the transition, with profits concentrating among multinational companies and elites while surrounding communities bear the costs. By foregrounding governance gaps, unequal global trade dynamics, and the politics of consent and distribution, Bruna shows how a “green” transition can perpetuate existing inequities unless reforms change who controls resources, how profits are shared, and how affected communities participate in decision-making. Other authors may discuss energy futures or critique development more broadly, but Bruna specifically frames the transition as something that can reproduce extractivist logics and inequality.