Wind turbines stand on a sandy strip of land in a turquoise water with a clear blue sky. A banner reads socio-ecological transformation.
Renewable energy such as these wind turbines in Okinawa play a key role in advancing Japan’s energy transition. | Foto: Paipateroma via Wikimedia Commons | GNU Free Documentation License

Periphery as the New Center? Japan’s Renewable Energy Market and Policy Landscape

The Japanese government is currently preparing its 7th Strategic Energy Plan and released its draft plan for public comments in December last year. Reflecting on the war in Ukraine and the growing tension in the Middle East, from which Japan imports the majority of its crude oil, the draft plan emphasizes the importance of a stable energy supply and of close cooperation with industries to achieve decarbonization and energy transition. As the draft plan also states, renewable energy plays a key role in advancing Japan’s green transition. However, the path to replacing fossil fuels with renewable energy does not look so straightforward.

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Photograph of a landscape with four wind turbines.
The peaceful appearance is misleading: Wind park in La Guajira in northern Colombia. Photo: © Martin Gubsch/PRIF.

Resisting Energy Transition? Understanding Roadblocks in Northern Colombia

La Guajira in northern Colombia has seen a disproportionate number of roadblocks recently, especially connected to wind park construction sites, staged by people demanding that the state implement economic, social, and physical security improvements. This conflict is an example of local impacts of the global energy transition on historically marginalized people. In this Spotlight we argue that La Guajira is a prime case showing how the energy transition is leveraged to indirectly address the state through private companies.

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