Environmental Justice and Just Transition in the EU’s Sustainability Policies in Third Countries: The Case of Colombia

ABSTRACT

The European Union (EU) is globally recognised as a sustainability leader and has implemented various climate policies such as the European Green Deal. However, it is also one of the largest importers of fossil fuel resources from developing countries, as in the case of coal from Colombia. From a political ecology and environmental justice perspective, it is possible to argue that the EU has benefited for many years from cheap Colombian coal, while the local population has suffered from the related social and environmental impacts. Colombia and Europe are connected not only through ‘ecologically unequal exchanges’, but also through anti-coal activist networks, which highlights the challenges ahead for the EU and its (former) suppliers of fossil fuels in terms of sustainability transitions.

KEYWORDS:

• climate justice
• European Green Deal
• ecologically unequal exchange
• Latin America

Acknowledgments

The authors acknowledge the UACES Research Network ‘The Role of Europe in Global Challenges: Climate Change and Sustainable Development’ for the organisation of a dedicated online workshop, and the co-editors for bringing this special issue to fruition. The Jean Monnet Network ‘Governing the EU’s climate and energy transition in turbulent times’ (GOVTRAN: www.govtran.eu), which is funded by the Erasmus+ programme of the European Union, deserves credit for additional support. Alliance Europa, which has funded the international research network on the ‘Governance of Sustainability in Europe’, has also supported the ideas put forward in this article through a number of workshops across Europe.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Gabriel Weber

Gabriel Weber is Associate Professor of Sustainability and Ecological Economics at ESSCA School of Management, Bordeaux, France.

Ignazio Cabras

Ignazio Cabras is Professor and Head of the Accounting and Financial Management Department at Northumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom, and Associate Researcher at ESSCA School of Management, Angers, France. Email: [email protected]; Twitter: @DrCabras