There are as many views of the energy transition as there are economic, political, ideological, ecological, technological and hegemonic interests. Thus, proposals for energy transition have very different objectives. There are political-economic views from neoliberalism, Keynesianism, and anti-capitalism; from ecological perspectives, from the cult of wildlife or eco-efficiency (cult of technology), or from the environmentalism of the poor – with emphasis on weak, strong or super-strong sustainability; from large multinational corporations in the oil industry; and from small citizen co-operatives.

Energy transition is already on the agenda of various institutions, governments, movements, corporations, and others. However, different actors have and promote different visions of both the process and the end goal of this transition.

Beyond energy sources, discussing energy transition means discussing resources, public policies, sectoral conflicts, geopolitical alliances, the environment, human rights, gender equality, corporate strategies, technology, diversification of production, the relationship between energy and the distribution of wealth, the relationship between energy and production, and food sovereignty, among others. To discuss a social-ecological transition we must understand the intricate relationships between many factors, and explore diverse conceptualisations (systemic and counter-systemic), as well as existing aspirations.

There are approximately 1.2 billion people worldwide who lack access to electricity, and more than 2 billion who cook with biomass, kerosene, or coal in conditions that affect their health (International Energy Agency, 2017). Energy poverty undermines quality of life and deepens inequality. Women are especially affected by energy poverty, given the roles generally assigned to them, as those responsible for reproduction of life and other care work.

Rights emerge from historical, social, and political struggles. Rights – particularly civil and political rights – used to be assigned only to men (and not all men, as some were excluded due to race, class, or other characteristics). As a result of political and social struggle, some countries’ rights frameworks today include all men, women, boys and girls. The rights of workers, peasants, traditional communities, and the right to express one’s sexual identity may be recognised, among others.

Over the last 160 years – from 1850 to 2010, the global population increased by 5.5 times, meanwhile energy consumption increased almost by 50 times through the use of fossil fuels.

There are technical, environmental, political, and social obstacles, among others, blocking the full exploitation of fossil fuel and uranium reserves. This section will address only one key obstacle: ‘Energy Return On Investment (EROI)’.

Information about the existence of so-called ‘unconventional’ oil and gas deposits has been available for a long time. Unconventional fossil fuels are sources of fossil energy other than traditional coal, oil, and gas which are being made (theoretically) available for extraction by new technological developments, or by rising fuel prices which make them profitable to extract despite the high energy, social, and environmental costs of doing so. These deposits can be classified by the method for their extraction.

Not long ago, the terms ‘energy’ and ‘climate’ began to be intertwined. Initially energy production was linked to environmental problems in general. Since the beginning of the industrial era, the negative impacts of coal on human health and air quality, on top of the impacts of mining, became apparent. In the 20th century other fossil fuels and nuclear energy increasingly became the focus of environmental concerns.

According to expert Javier A. Prieto (2018), moving towards an energy transition requires three elements: reducing net energy demand, deploying decentralized renewable energies, and improving ecosystem conservation alongside agroecological land management. This process must also take place in a context of democracy and socio-environmental justice.

We must abandon fossil fuels. Not just because of scarcity and the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions but also because of the serious socio-territorial conflicts that the fossil fuel economy - large-scale production, agroindustry, and fossil fuel developments - has created.

Over the last two decades, Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) has slowly started to develop renewable energies. Governments have passed a series of laws and regulations to promote renewable energy (primarily electricity). In many cases, however, regulations have not been adhered to, and new laws have been passed to reach the same objectives.

The trade and investment protection regime can affect the prospects of moving towards a peoples’ energy transition. The volume of goods traded internationally is responsible for a large portion of global energy demand. In many cases, this trade entails the transport of raw materials for manufacturing and later consumption with each stage taking place in different parts of the globe. This ineffeciency drives increasing energy consumption. At the same time, raw materials are generally products derived from mining or agro-industry, which reproduce the same model of extraction and distribution based on unlimited energy use. The trade and investment regime aims to drive the continued (and unsustainable) growth of international trade.

In response to the systemic socio-environmental crisis, social movements and organisations around the world have been building diverse alternatives to the development paradigm. In relation to the energy sector and the energy transition, there are movements, organisations, and experiences aiming to transform energy policies, although these are not always very visible.

These questions are central in the energy transition. Workers (both men and women), in alliance with other organised social movements, must be the ones to promote, develop and control a peoples’ energy transition. Workers’ organisations including unions are especially critical. The impact of the energy transition on jobs and workers’ rights is a major concern for workers, unions, and federations of all kinds. They express these concerns in the debate regarding the so-called ‘just transition’.

Agrofuels - fuels derived from agricultural products including soy beans, sugar cane, oil palm, and corn, among others – began to be exploited on an industrial scale in the late 20th century, partially in response to concerns about declining availability (and rising costs) of fossil fuels, and often justified by reference to the environmental costs of burning fossil fuels. This ‘boom’ in agrofuel affected several regions of the Global South. The expansion at the beginning of the 21st century coincided with a global increase in the price of oil. Europe and the United States played a key role in promoting the expansion of agrofuel production by setting targets for renewable energy use, and use of renewable fuels for transport.

Feminist perspectives have enriched the collective analysis of the climate crisis and peoples’ energy transition by exposing the roles that the capitalist system has assigned to women, and women’s power in driving transformation.

Many institutions are working on energy scenarios for the future. This includes those associated with governments, corporations, groupings of countries like the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), multilateral agencies like the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB), and agencies like the Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change, linked to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. Social and labour organisations are also trying to build alternative scenarios.

Trade Unions for Energy Democracy (TUED) asserts that a transition to a truly sustainable energy system can only occur if there is a decisive shift in power away from large profit–driven corporations towards ordinary citizens and communities. (Worker Institute at Cornell, 2012).