The Energy We Need

The Green New Deal is built around the idea that we need to restructure our energy systems in such a way that our economies and societies will be supplied by clean and sustainable energy sources. This premise is a direct response to the globally destructive threat that the climate crisis represents, and the GND is proposed as a way to stop the human and ecological devastation that the fossil fuel industries have wrought for decades, particularly in the Global South.

But this clear and necessary objective does not in itself remove the considerable obstacles that our goals of transformation face.

One principal obstacle can be briefly summarized in the following question: How can citizens, workers and consumers take control of the energy system in such a way that ensures the double necessity of decarbonization and universal access to energy?

A second obstacle to overcome is that of weighing and taking into account the different interests and capacities of States. How do we make sure Global North countries assume their fair share of responsibility, as opposed to organizing an artificial transition that would leave the burden and human costs disproportionately to the Global South?

These obstacles must be confronted in all their seriousness, and this is what this discussion intends to do, bringing together voices from three different continents to sketch the different pathways toward a just and radical energy transition