Abstract in English:
This article presents a theoretical-normative instrument for climate policymakers to address the climate issue from the social studies’ sociological perspective intersected with political ecology. Climate initiatives and policies are on the agenda of various social groups; at the same time, climate policymakers need instruments. Brazil lacks such theoretical-normative instruments. Based on a comprehensive review of the literature on climate ethics from a sociological perspective, this study developed and tested ‘PLANB Index’ in twenty-two Brazilian climate instruments formulated by the state, the private and third sectors, and academia. The index is composed of five modeled analytical categories: plurality in decision-making, energy locality, epistemic and material access, planned naturalness, and generational benefit. The results show that there is a mix of anthropocentric and ecocentric principles in the contents created by multisectoral arrangements – including private superclusters and international state investment funds. ‘PLANB Index’ proved to be an effective tool to identify the guiding principles in Brazilian climate policies; it might also contribute to future climate policymaking. ‘PLANB Index’ is an original contribution because it was not only empirically tested in the Brazilian context but also modeled from a sociological perspective, in close connection to other social science fields, with an emphasis on the ethical-political dimension.Abstract in English:
How are the subjects of energy and energy justice discussed within multilateral forums? Given the significance of this subject and the disparities among nations, examining how energy-related matters are addressed in intergovernmental arenas reveals how governments manage the implications of inequalities in basic needs, such as energy. To investigate the phenomenon, we monitored how the seven categories identified in the literature – ‘Efficiency’, ‘Access to Energy’, ‘Renewable Energies’, ‘Capacity Building’, ‘Research and Development’, ‘Technology Transfer’, and ‘Financing’ – were evoked in multilateral discussions. Specifically, we used the ‘UN General Assembly Sponsorship Dataset’ to identify, through content analysis, 59 draft resolutions that mentioned these energy themes between 2000 and 2020. We analyzed this corpus and detailed the themes, their combination, and the most involved countries. Through cluster analysis and correspondence analysis, we identified three major groups of themes, ‘Access to energy’, ‘Technology’ and ‘Energy Transition’, while ‘Capacity Building’ appeared as a cross-cutting issue. We also identified that large multilateral groups were an important factor driving engagement with the topic, as G77 members, and specially those pertaining to Central and South Asia, were among the most active players.