From Green to Red: New Energy Projects and Violent Conflict in Fragile Settings

Anne Jamison, Witold Jerzy Henisz, Brian Ganson, Joseph Bettles

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference abstract in proceedingsResearchpeer-review

Abstract

The number and scale of commercial-scale solar installations in emerging economies continue to grow. Despite the ethical stance of new energy proponents, there are indications that these projects can be drivers of violent socio-political and socio-economic conflict in already fragile places, posing risks both to people and to successful implementation of a green transition. We first survey the pathways by which "green" energy investments can turn "red" through their entanglement in the political economy of conflict. We then investigate the conflict impact of these projects using a geospatial dataset of projects in fragile contexts from 1994-2020. Employing propensity score panel matching in a subnational research design, we show that commercial-scale solar projects, on average, cause an increase in deaths from conflict in the year following the project start in their local project area. Conflict escalation is driven by sentiment towards elites, underlining the propensity of these projects to undermine social cohesion. Given the ethical deficiency of outcomes that further burden the already poor and vulnerable, these results call for greater accountability for conflict risk assessment and mitigation by green financiers, the companies they fund, green energy advocates, and policy makers embedded in a perhaps too-narrow view of the ethical landscape.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationProceedings of the Eighty-fourth Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management
EditorsSonia Taneja
Number of pages1
Place of PublicationValhalla, NY
PublisherAcademy of Management
Publication date2024
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2024
EventThe Academy of Management Annual Meeting 2024: Innovating for the Future: Policy, Purpose, and Organizations - Chicago, United States
Duration: 9 Aug 202413 Aug 2024
Conference number: 84
https://aom2024.eventscribe.net/

Conference

ConferenceThe Academy of Management Annual Meeting 2024
Number84
Country/TerritoryUnited States
CityChicago
Period09/08/202413/08/2024
Internet address
SeriesAcademy of Management Annual Meeting Proceedings
ISSN0065-0668

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