Research Networking Trip to Colombia

This project has been funded by a Brigstow Ideas Exchange grant.

The objective of this trip is to meet partners, develop relationships and networks to formulate more specific ideas and research questions for future, co-produced research around green extractivism, that is, the extraction of critical raw materials for low-carbon transitions, and ‘clean’ energy such as green hydrogen, wind or solar. Potential partners are social movements and/or communities in Colombia who respond to or are affected by the Global North’s net-zero transformations, as well as academics at Colombian Higher Education institutions.

During the stay in Colombia, I will be a Guest Researcher at the National University of Colombia, Bogota, and closely work with Professor Astrid Ulloa to identify areas of interest for future research in order to avoid duplicating on-going work, for example, in La Guajira. During my stay, I will also present my research on degrowth and socioecological transformations.

The project concludes with an internal UoB event to bring together a range of scholars from across the university to discuss and explore critical raw materials and green extractivism. The event will serve to share my findings, identify areas for future, interdisciplinary collaboration, and establish a network for green extractivism researchers at UoB.