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This article uses the ethnography of the prelives of lithium industrialization in Bolivia to contribute to wider debates - in anthropology and beyond - about the essentially contested nature of the green energy transition. Based on research conducted between 2019 and 2023, the article examines the topographies of production and sociopolitical mobilization that are entangled with Bolivia's state-controlled lithium project but which resist the various pressures to reorient social and productive worlds around arguably the most important 'critical' mineral for climate policy-making. The article develops a theoretical framework for understanding these localized counter-futurities, one in which the image of scale-making takes on both vertical and horizontal dimensions. An anthropology of energy, climate justice, and resource imaginaries that is critically attuned to these inter-scalar frictions is one that must also be able to project itself through the kaleidoscope of competing energy narratives as a form of both demystification and ethnographic truth-telling.

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The growth in population, economic expansion, and urban dynamism has collectively driven a surge in the use of public and private transport, resulting in increased energy consumption in this sector. Consequently, the transport sector requires an energy transition to meet mobility demands, foster economic growth, and achieve emission reduction. The main objective of this article is to systematically review the literature on energy transition in transportation, categorizing research, identifying barriers, and providing analysis to guide future steps, with a special focus on developing countries. The methodology used in this study follows a sequence for a systematic review based on an evidence-informed approach and specific guidelines for systematic reviews, exploring the concepts, methodologies, and policies within the context of the energy transition, considering transport modes and geographical scope. The findings indicate that electricity is the predominant energy source in this transition, although its prevalence varies by transport mode. Biofuels present an alternative, primarily contributing to emission reduction associated with fossil fuel use. Natural gas emerges as a cost-effective option for heavy transport, while hydrogen represents another alternative, with the challenge of developing recharging infrastructure. Determinants of this transition include recharging infrastructure, tax and nontax incentives, public policies, the generation of electric power from renewable sources, and the management of battery life cycles from mineral extraction to disposal.

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The land transport sector, impacting fossil fuel consumption, has been selected as one of the sectors to apply decarbonization strategies. Energy systems modelling is an applied tool to evaluate scenarios and strategies that can be implemented in the transport sector to achieve energy transitions. These energy modelling tools need a dataset that allows the simulation of alternative scenarios of the systems. For this purpose, a collection and processing of technical-economic data is needed to ensure a quality input for simulation tools. This article presents a set of open data to create a model of the energy system of the Dominican Republic to assess alternative scenarios and develop strategies to achieve the energy transition in the land transport sector. This exercise is performed to support the energy planning policies of the country. Although the dataset is presented for the conditions of the Dominican Republic, the insight regarding data gathering and processing can be applied to other island countries. The data obtained are an open-access database of energy regulators, generation agents, and representatives of the generation, transmission, and distribution sector, as well as websites, databases of international organizations, scientific journals, and standards. Therefore, the data presented can be updated as the technical-economic information becomes public.

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Hydrogen is globally acknowledged as a versatile energy carrier crucial for decarbonization in multiple sectors. Many countries have initiated the development of national hydrogen roadmaps and strategies, recognizing hydrogen as a strategic resource for achieving sustainable energy transitions. Formulating these guidelines for future action demands a solid technical foundation to facilitate well-informed decision-making. Energy system modelling has emerged as a significant scientific tool to assist governments and ministries in designing hydrogen pathways assessments based on scientific outcomes. The first step in the modelling process involves gathering, curating, and managing techno-economic data, a process that is often time-consuming and hindered by the unavailability and inaccessibility of data sources. This paper introduces an open techno-economic dataset encompassing key technologies within the hydrogen supply chain, spanning from production to end-use applications. Energy modelers, researchers, policymakers, and stakeholders can leverage this dataset for energy planning models, with a specific focus on hydrogen pathways. The presented data is designed to promote modelling studies that are retrievable, reusable, repeatable, reconstructable, interoperable, and auditable (U4RIA). This enhanced transparency aims to foster greater public trust, scientific reproducibility, and increased collaboration amongst academia, industry, and government in producing technical reports that underpin national hydrogen roadmaps and strategies.

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This study analyzes public perception towards the energy transition and decarbonization in Chile, and how these preferences change with political ideology, as well as distance between power plant installations and people's homes. Due to a lack of scientific research on civil society preferences for energy production in Chile, we used a convenience sample and conducted a survey among future decision makers (current university students) to identify which factors impact their acceptance or rejection of energy sources. In addition, we asked them about their vision for the future energy mix. In total, 164 valid questionnaires were collected. Results show that the level of acceptance and preference changes with political ideology, with social liberals being more willing to change their lifestyle and increase their willingness to pay for a faster inclusion of clean technologies in the energy mix. Higher levels of education increase this willingness to pay. The level of acceptance decreases up to 56% for solar and wind when the installation is located within a radius less than 5 km from the population's homes. The level of rejection is 97% for hydroelectricity and 99% for non-renewable power plants if they are located at distances lower than 5 km. The decentralization of energy policy decisions and the consideration of local society would be relevant for an energy transition towards renewable sources.

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Decarbonization pathways have emerged as a pivotal element of global climate change mitigation strategies. Energy system modelling is widely recognized as a tool to support the design of informed energy decarbonization policies. However, the development of energy models heavily relies on high-quality input data, which may pose significant challenges in developing countries where data accessibility is limited, incomplete, outdated, or inadequate. Moreover, while models may exist in countries, these are not publicly available; therefore, details cannot be retrieved, repeated, reconstructed, interoperable or auditable (U4RIA). This paper presents an open techno-economic energy dataset for Colombia that is U4RIA-compliant as it can be used transparently to model decarbonization pathways and support energy planning in the country. Despite being country-specific, most of the data is technology-based and thus applicable to other countries. Diverse sources, assumptions, and modelling guidelines are described to facilitate the creation of new datasets. The dataset enhances the availability of energy data for policymakers, stakeholders, and researchers, not only in Colombia but also in other developing countries.

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Background: Achieving climate targets will require a rapid transition to clean energy. However, renewable energy (RE) firms face financial, policy, and economic barriers to mobilizing sufficient investment in low-carbon technologies, especially in low- and middle-income countries. Here, we analyze the challenges and successes of financing the energy transition in Nigeria and Brazil using three empirically grounded levers: financing environments, channels, and instruments. Results: While Brazil has leveraged innovative policy instruments to mobilize large-scale investment in RE, policy uncertainty and weak financing mechanisms have hindered RE investments in Nigeria. Specifically, Brazil's energy transition has been driven by catalytic finance from the Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES). In contrast, bilateral agencies and multilateral development banks (MDBs) have been the largest financiers of renewables in Nigeria. Policy instruments and public-private partnerships need to be redesigned to attract finance and scale market opportunities for RE project developers in Nigeria. Conclusions: We conclude that robust policy frameworks, a dynamic public bank, strategic deployment of blended finance, and diversification of financing instruments would be essential to accelerate RE investment in Nigeria. Considering the crucial role of donors and MDBs in Nigeria, we propose a multi-stakeholder model to consolidate climate finance and facilitate the country's energy transition.

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Climate change might affect energy production and therefore the energy security of a country or region. This situation may impact renewable energy sources such as hydro power, leading to consequences on energy transition strategies. This might be critical in sensitive regions to climate change, one of them being the Caribe and northern South America. Since there are numerous energy systems based on sensitive technologies worldwide, it is necessary to introduce techniques to analyze the effects of climate change on different possible energy transition paths. The goal of this study is to develop and assess a method to analyze one of the most critical effects faced by climate change for societies worldwide: the sensitivity of the energy systems to climate change. This is especially critical in developing countries, in locations where temperatures will strongly increase in the following years. To assess this effect, this study proposes a vulnerability index (VI) to evaluate the vulnerability of an on-grid electricity system to climate change at the national and regional scales. This index was assessed using a Monte-Carlo method for uncertainty. The case of Colombia, a country with a system based on hydropower (> 70%) is used to illustrate the method. VI is based on variables related to climate change, the energy matrix, and vulnerability. Results show that the regions with the larger vulnerability correspond to the more energy-demanding ones. The VI for these regions is greater than 50% of the maximum possible vulnerability; meanwhile, the vulnerability of the whole country was estimated as 43%.

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The government of Argentina has recently declared its objective of turning the nation carbon-neutral by 2050. Thus, it is essential to identify the relevant factors which can facilitate the attainment of this environmental development target. Against this backdrop, this study aims to evaluate the impacts of renewable electricity output, trade globalization, economic growth, financial development, urbanization, and technological innovation on sectoral carbon dioxide emissions in Argentina during the 1971-2014 period. The findings, overall, suggest that enhancing renewable electricity output share in the total electricity output figure of the nation helps to curb carbon dioxide emissions generated from Argentina's energy, manufacturing and industry, residential and commercial buildings, and transportation sectors. Contrarily, greater trade globalization is evidenced to boost carbon dioxide emissions in almost all the aforementioned economic sectors. Besides, the findings also validate the existence of the carbon dioxide emission-induced environmental Kuznets curve hypothesis for all four sectors. In addition, financial development and urbanization are also evidenced to exert carbon dioxide emission-stimulating impacts, while technological innovation is witnessed to be necessary for curbing sector-based carbon dioxide emissions in Argentina. Accordingly, to decarbonize the economy, this study recommends the government of Argentina to adopt necessary policies for fostering renewable energy transition within the electricity sector, greening the trade globalization strategies, achieving environmentally sustainable economic growth, developing the financial sector by introducing green financial schemes, planning sustainable urbanization, and financing technological development-oriented projects.

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