Cost of living in geothermally resourceful area: Posthuman political ecology of energy transition in Ethiopia

Exploration and exploitation of natural resources as alternative source energy are on the rise in a period of post-carbon infrastructure. In the past two decades, social scientists have been engaging with various forms energy research such as hydro and nuclear and yet social research on geothermal energy is scant. This paper focuses on the development of geothermal energy, a form of energy conversion in which heat energy from beneath the Earth's surface is captured and harnessed for electrical power generation. Drawing on fieldwork in the three locations in Ethiopia: Aluto, Corbetti and Tulu Moye area in Oromia region, this paper sheds light on spatial relations and dynamics between humans, nature, and the land's natural resources. The development of geothermal infrastructure comes with complex socio-ecological tensions. Based on ethnographic with communities in rural Ethiopia, this paper explores these tensions; specifically, how people in geothermally resourceful regions need to negotiate with their livelihood, traditional practices, and culture for the sake of development and climate justice.

Raihana Ferdous is an energy geographer working as a lecturer at Oxford Brookes University.  Her research is concerned with the development of sustainable energy and technology and in their shaping of the human and more than human worlds. Raihana has an extensive background in both Human Geography and Social Anthropology and has worked with various inter and multi-disciplinary, multi-sectoral teams in the field of energy in the UK, Asia and Africa. 

To book a place at this event please visit our EventBrite page.