Vasna Ramasar - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Vasna Ramasar

Environmental politics, Mar 24, 2024

This article examines the role of moral arguments in the delegitimation of transition policies. P... more This article examines the role of moral arguments in the delegitimation of transition policies. Previous research has highlighted attitudes and arguments that explain resistance against transition policies, including perceptions of unfairness; inefficiency and effectiveness; lack of trust; and ideology. This article provides further understanding of resistance to climate policies by zooming in on how social movements implicitly and explicitly use moral arguments to delegitimise lowcarbon transition policies. Through a qualitative interview study with members of a Swedish social media movement against low-carbon transport policies, we analyse central arguments against policies; how moral considerations figure in them; and how these strengthen argumentative delegitimation practices against transition policies in the transport sector. We show how moral arguments serve to legitimise protests both by instilling an urgency in the cause and generalising the demands to delegitimise mainstream transition policies, and suggest that recognition of this may contribute to both better analysis and policies.

Energy research & social science, Apr 1, 2024

Theories of energy justice are standardly used to evaluate decision-making and policy-design rela... more Theories of energy justice are standardly used to evaluate decision-making and policy-design related to energy infrastructure. All too rarely attention is paid to the need for a method of justifying principles of justice as well as justice-based judgments that are appealed to in this context. This article responds to this need by offering an engaged ethics approach to normative justification useful for energy justice theory. More specifically, it presents a method of public reflective equilibrium and shows its potential as systematic method for both anchoring analyses of justice in practically relevant judgments and for critically examining perceived injustices. The method is developed and demonstrated through the case of injustices related to a hypothetical but realistic case of wind power development. Participants were invited to a process of justifying justice-claims, using a version of the method of public reflective equilibrium. They reflected on a preliminary normative framework created by the research team and visually depicted by a graphic artist. The analysis of the workshop identifies the following three themes as particularly important for just wind power development: (1) establishing trust among the stakeholders; (2) questioning energy demand; and (3) identifying the right site and scale for energy decisions. All three themes have to do with fair procedures. The latter part of the paper explores what this means for theorising energy justice and outlines a theory of imperfect procedural energy justice.

DN DEBATT 26/9. Vuxna bor folja uppmaningen fran ungdomarna i Fridays for future-rorelsen och pro... more DN DEBATT 26/9. Vuxna bor folja uppmaningen fran ungdomarna i Fridays for future-rorelsen och protestera eftersom det politiska ledarskapet ar otillrackligt. Omfattande och langvariga patryckningar fran hela samhallet behovs for att fa de politiskt ansvariga att utova det ledarskap som klimatkrisen kraver, skriver 171 forskare i samhallsvetenskap och humaniora.

Governance for Justice and Environmental Sustainability, 2014

Applied Energy, 2019

justice in the transition to low carbon energy systems: Exploring key themes in the social scienc... more justice in the transition to low carbon energy systems: Exploring key themes in the social sciences. Applied Energy, With the dual challenges of reducing emissions from fossil fuels and providing access to clean and affordable energy, there is an imperative for a transition to a low carbon energy system. The transition must take into consideration questions of energy justice to ensure that policies, plans and programmes guarantee fair and equitable access to resources and technologies. An energy justice framework is outlined to account for distributional, procedural and recognition inequalities, as well as emerging themes such as cosmopolitan and non-Western understandings justice, in decision-making relating to energy systems. The spectrum of research offers critical perspectives on the energy transition as well as tools for decision-making and policy processes. Quantitative, qualitative and mixed methods all contribute to our understanding of the problems and the success of responses. The studies presented in this special issue illustrate that the field of energy justice is a rapidly growing arena. There is constant innovation taking place in enabling the transition with new structures, processes and metrics being introduced to guide decision-making and a more holistic view of the community emerging where acceptance, mobilisation and empowerment are opening possibilities for a just transition to a low carbon energy system.

The World Bank and the CSIR for support ing the vision of how environmental assessment and manage... more The World Bank and the CSIR for support ing the vision of how environmental assessment and management can contribute to the fight against HIV/AIDS and providing the resources to allow me to do my research. Catherine Oelofse , my supervisor, whose enormous patience , guidance and enthusiasm kept me on track to reaching my goals. My friends at the CSIR for bullying, supporting and giving me the space to do my research. I would especially like to thank Alex for putting me on the path to contributing towards HIV/AIDS in Africa and Rob for making sure I stay on the path to finishing my dissertation. My family , Dad, Mum, Thriya and Mahin, for always being there with love and encouragement. Finally and most importantly I would like to acknowledge the many people who shared their time and thoughts with me. I would like to salute the courageous people affected by HIV/AIDS who are fighting the battle against the disease in Africa .

* Test the framework through project application Carrying out a similar feasibility study in othe... more * Test the framework through project application Carrying out a similar feasibility study in other regions is not necessary. The best approach to begin roll-out within the Bank is to use the framework for a few projects in different countries and regions. Sub-Saharan Africa, South and East Asia and South America should all have projects undertaken in the near future. The findings of these projects can be captured as a "lessons leamt" booklet by Act,4frica for wide distribution within the Bank * Development of an EA Sourcebook Update As there is no single guideline document that provides a readily useable toolkit integrating HIV/AIDS issues into EA, it is recommended that an update to the EA Sourcebook be prepared. The update can summarise the approach and tools that are available to EA practitioners. * Information dissemination within and outside the Bank With the Bank's approval, this report can be distributed to all stakeholders consulted in the process and other interested parties. This can be undertaken by the consultant responsible for preparing the report. * Capacity building of Bank staff As a priority, staff from World Bank environment, social and health departments must be presented with the framework in a workshop and be given an opportunity to discuss how they would use it. In the countries with the highest prevalence rate, World Bank resident missions should have at least one staff member who is able to advise on HVI/AIDS issues for all country projects. In Africa, this could be one of the staff most closely involved in the Multi-country HIV/AIDS Programs. Where this competence does not exist, it should be brought in or capacity built in HIV/AIDS issues. * Awareness and capacity building of government authorities Within national governments, a HIV/AIDS "roadshow" could be presented to representatives from the environmental authority in different countries in Africa. The National HIV/AIDS Council must be involved in presenting the workshops in each country in order to promote ownership of the concept. The roadshow would consist of a presentation of the framework and tools, as well as a strategic planning session on how it can be implemented in the country. Financing of HIV/AIDS component The financing of an HIV/AIDS component will vary depending on the level of assessment and management interventions introduced. The funding of the assessment must come from the project budget. Management interventions can be financed from different sources. Opportunities to obtain funding from the Multi-Country HIV/AIDS Program an country UNAIDS Thematic Groups for community-based management interventions should be explored.

Environmental Innovation and Societal Transitions, 2012

After apartheid, South Africa has stepped up to the challenge of reforming an inequitable water s... more After apartheid, South Africa has stepped up to the challenge of reforming an inequitable water service delivery system to meet the needs of all citizens. We frame this systematic societal change as a transition in water governance. We argue that when evaluating this pathway of transition, we should not only look at the changes in water legislation and number with improved access, but also analyze the quality of the water service delivery in terms of different payment schemes, participation by local citizens and conflicts around equality of water provision. By analyzing power in transition studies, we explore the power dynamics at play in two regions of Johannesburg, namely Alexandra and Soweto. The paper highlights the need to explicate the politics of water service delivery and suggests opportunities to break the negative patterns in order to achieve equitable and sustainable water service delivery in South Africa.

Journal of Environmental Assessment Policy and Management, 2006

The past few decades have seen an increasing demand for environmental information on which to mak... more The past few decades have seen an increasing demand for environmental information on which to make more informed decisions, strengthened by several international calls for improving available environmental information. In a democratic South Africa, the involvement of people in policy and decision-making processes has led to an even greater need for accessible information. In response to this demand for information, State of the Environment (SOE) reporting has gained momentum and become highly popular in South Africa. This popularity has grown despite the absence of any legal mandate for reporting in South Africa, as well as the lack of formalised institutional arrangements for reporting. The current situation has resulted in a number of challenges for SOE reporting which need to be addressed. These challenges, and appropriate solutions, are discussed. The paper aims to stimulate discussion in the field of SOE reporting, both within South Africa and internationally.

Environment and Planning E: Nature and Space, 2018

Transitioning to renewable energy is an imperative to help mitigate climate change, but such tran... more Transitioning to renewable energy is an imperative to help mitigate climate change, but such transitions are inevitably embedded in broader socio-ecological and political dynamics. Recent scholarship has focused on these more-than-technological dimensions of energy transitions to help understand their promises and drawbacks. This article contributes to this research agenda by highlighting the importance of considering not only who benefits from renewable energy development, but also what renewable energy is for. We analyse two cases in Iceland, the Kárahnjúkar hydropower project and Hellisheiði geothermal energy plant, in which renewable energy was used to attract heavy industry investments in the form of aluminium smelters. Attractive regulatory conditions in the form of ‘minimal red tape’, low electricity prices and an industry-friendly tax regime led to significant profits for the aluminium industry but questionable benefits for the state and the people of Iceland. Renewable ener...

The Extractive Industries and Society

Coal has long been one of the fossil fuels underpinning the energy systems of many countries arou... more Coal has long been one of the fossil fuels underpinning the energy systems of many countries around the world. Because of its long-standing history, many actors have an interest in retaining the status quo. In this article, we explore the complexities of a coal phase-out in different countries. Drawing on empirical material from Germany, India, Mexico, Serbia and South Africa, we look at the way coal is represented in public debate. We do so by analysing the respective political arguments of key actors about coal phase-out in the chosen countries and analyse their inherent justice claims. Our research illustrates how state institutions, fossil fuel companies and other actors have contributed to framing coal as a formative factor of social relations and as an asset for development. Further, we find that there is considerable overlap of justice claims between global North and global South countries, even though actors from global South countries also invoke global inequalities and historical climate debt. Based on our results, we argue that policymakers must (a) critically interrogate justice claims and (b) consider injustices created by the status quo to ensure a Just Transition.

Energy Research & Social Science

The way in which we produce and consume energy has profound implications for our societies. How w... more The way in which we produce and consume energy has profound implications for our societies. How we configure our energy systems determines not only our chances of successfully dealing with climate change but also, how benefits and burdens of these systems are distributed. In this paper, we set out to map the literature on conflicts related to the energy system in Sweden using a framework of energy justice. The purpose of this exercise is twofold: first, to identify and understand energy conflicts in Sweden through the research that is published; and second, to identify gaps in the literature on energy justice in Sweden. This systematic review builds upon 40 scholarly articles focusing on energy conflicts in Sweden. All articles were written in the time period from January 2010 to January 2021. All articles were published in English in peer-reviewed scientific journals. The papers were analysed using a framework for energy justice that focused on the elements of distributional and procedural justice and recognition justice. The findings of the review suggest that there has been little explicit focus on energy justice in the literature on Sweden’s energy system. Issues of distributional justice are most raised and procedural and recognition justice are often conflated in research. While conflicts over hydropower and nuclear have dominated in the past, wind energy in Sami territory is most problematised in the reviewed literature. The understanding of justice in the Swedish energy system is currently missing two elements: a rigorous handling of ecologically unequal exchange and restorative justice.

Journal of Political Ecology, 2020

This article explores the paradox of corporations using social and environmental justice concerns... more This article explores the paradox of corporations using social and environmental justice concerns to market products that are themselves made in conditions of environmental and social injustice, most often in the Global South. The effects of the fashion industry on people is two-pronged: 1) the unsafe and exploitative conditions under which many garment workers operate, and 2) the severe and harmful water and air pollution caused by fashion industry factories. There are thus contradictions inherent in the manner in which corporations, through their marketing, seek to foster feminism and environmentalism, whilst sourcing their garments from factories that operate in problematic ways. Using case studies of advertising campaigns from three Swedish companies, H&M, Monki and Gina Tricot, we conducted a discourse analysis to understand the messages to consumers as well as the image of the company that is portrayed. Through our political ecology analysis, we suggest that the promotion of feminism and environmentalism is not consistently applied by companies in their own practices and could at worst be labeled green and 'fem washing.' These approaches can also be deeply problematic when they lead to the exotification of others, and cultural appropriation. We further find that the marketing strategies in fashion serve not only to promote the sale of products but also have the effect of placing environmental responsibility onto individual consumers. Ultimately, fashion marketing serves to obfuscate ecologically unequal exchange and the true costs of fashion.

At first sight, the issues of HIV/AIDS and water would appear to bear very little relation to eac... more At first sight, the issues of HIV/AIDS and water would appear to bear very little relation to each other. HIV/AIDS is a global-scale pandemic that is transmitted between people primarily through sexual contact, while water is a renewable natural resource of which the availability depends on a variety of geographic and climatic factors. However, a closer inspection of the features that characterise the spread of HIV/AIDS and its implications for individuals, communities and societies reveals several significant linkages with water, as well as important consequences for water resource management. The links between HIV/AIDS and water reflect some of the often unanticipated effects of the pandemic on society, with long-term implications for effective water resource management and the provision of wholesome water supplies to communities. This chapter first provides a strategic overview of the HIV/AIDS pandemic in Southern Africa and then examines the extent to which it influences and is ...

In times of runaway climate change, phasing out fossil fuels and increasing the share of renewabl... more In times of runaway climate change, phasing out fossil fuels and increasing the share of renewables is imperative. But this transition is not without pitfalls as shown by a recent study of two large renewable projects in Iceland.