Energy Transition in Post-War Sri Lanka: Policy pathways, geopolitical dynamics and the question of equity

Abstract

In his doctoral dissertation Gz. MeeNilankco Theiventhran examines post-war societies’ prospects of achieving energy transition socially, equitably and positively and explores potential pathways and associated challenges. Focusing on Sri Lanka, Theiventhran explores the motives, strategies, and conditions accompanying energy transitions in a post-war context. He challenges the conventional wisdom on renewables and points out that clean and green are not always desirable. The dissertation argues that the starting point for any energy transition, especially in a post-war environment, should be the understanding that energy injustice is produced historically, geographically and materially. In other words, energy inequity, injustice, and vulnerability are far more complex than matters of technology, prices and income and involve structural and socio-cultural conditions that have evolved and will continue to do so, positively or negatively, over time and space. In the global South, energy transition initiatives have been in an investor-led, donor-shaped policy environment where financing and technological choices are largely determined by corporate and foreign players and state elites, where the interests of the poorest groups are easily neglected. The interdependencies established by global power infrastructure and the formation of new patterns in international trade relating to renewable energy have created new inequities impacting developing countries. Theiventhran argues that in order to achieve just and sustainable energy transitions in the Global South, it is necessary to counter or at least balance the neoliberal capitalistic mode of technological-financial fixes typically promoted by bilateral and multilateral agencies as well as private sector investors. This dissertation offers an alternative perspective: Even though energy transitions are at the forefront of combating climate change, it is crucial to recognise that clean and green may only sometimes be very clean or very green.