Presentation short abstract

Brazil’s renewable boom reproduces extractive dynamics, driving territorial dispossession and socio-ecological harm. Emerging from affected communities, the Movement of People Affected by Renewable Energies challenges green capitalism and advances climate justice in Abya-Yala.

Presentation long abstract

The rapid expansion of wind and solar energy in Brazil has been celebrated by governments and corporations as evidence of climate leadership and a just energy transition. Yet, mirroring the logic of other extractive activities, these projects depend on the large-scale appropriation of land by globalized capital, resulting in profound territorial, social, and ecological disruptions. While acknowledging the urgency of addressing climate change, Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities in Brazil have increasingly contested this prevailing model of energy transition, particularly with regard to the asymmetrical distribution of its costs and benefits. The emergence of the “Movimento das Atingidas e Atingidos por Energias Renováveis” (MAR, or Movement of People Affected by Renewables) in 2023 challenges hegemonic narratives that portray energy transition as inherently “clean,” “neutral,” and “inevitable,” revealing instead how green capitalism reproduces long-standing patterns of dispossession across the Abya-Yala region. The movement arises from the lived experiences of fishing communities and smallholder farmers in Brazil’s Northeast who face escalating impacts from wind and solar expansion. These include the systematic absence of prior consultation with traditional peoples, highly asymmetric land-lease arrangements, the degradation of fragile ecosystems such as the Brazilian dry forest (Caatinga), and documented effects on human and animal health. In addition to traditional communities, MAR brings together universities and civil society organizations, which have collectively been constructing a repertoire of claims, methodologies for documenting impacts, and strategies for political action. Together, these efforts directly engage with the agendas of South–South grassroots movements for climate and energy justice.