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Cited by 217European Union Policy and GovernancePolitical Economy and MarxismSocial Sciences and Humanities

The “Greening” of Empire: The European Green Deal as the EU first agenda

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Vela Almeida, Diana, Kolinjivadi, Vijay, Ferrando, Tomaso, Roy, Brototi, Herrera, Héctor, Vecchione Gonçalves, Marcela, Van Hecken, Gert·2023·Political Geography
DOI 10.1016/j.polgeo.2023.102925
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Abstract

The recent past has seen the proposal of multiple ‘Green New Deals’ across geographies as a means to fight against the climate crisis and ecological breakdown. Of these, the European Green Deal- EGD represents the world's first public commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions of at least 55% by 2030 compared to 1990 levels. Because the EGD plans to “transform the EU,” in this paper we examine how it fits within a historical continuum of colonial and neo-colonial relations. We argue that the EGD is the latest discursive strategy for the ‘greening' of empire through four registers: (1) turning ecological crises into profitable opportunities; (2) portraying the EU as a ‘moral’ intervener; (3) building on a ‘green' “will to improve”; and (4) securitizing and consolidating the empire. We find how the EU acts in key policy arenas of diplomacy, trade and investment leading to the ‘greening' of the empire that ensures its continued economic and political leadership while fundamentally maintaining a status quo. We conclude with some reflections on the role of the EU to cede place to other possibilities of building anti-colonial ecologies.

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  • Green extractivism reproduces colonially shaped North-South relations or various forms of internal colonization, advancing intersecting processes of green and energy colonialism.

    “Green extractivism, moreover, reproduces colonially shaped North-South relations or various forms of internal colonization2 (Zografos & Robbins, 2020; Fjellheim, 2023; Vela-Almeida et al., 2023; Dunlap & Tornel, 2024), advancing the intersecting processes of green and energy colonialism (Lang et al., 2024; Lohmann, 2024; Müller, 2024).”

    From The political ecologies of "green" extractivism(s): An introduction (2024) · cites this paper as Vela-Almeida et al., 2023

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Authors
Vela Almeida, D., Kolinjivadi, V., Ferrando, T., Roy, B., Herrera, H., Vecchione Gonçalves, M., & Van Hecken, G.
Affiliations
  • University of Antwerp (BE)
  • Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (ES)
ORCID
Venue
Political Geography
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2023-08
Volume
105
Pages
102925
ISSN
0962-6298 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1016/j.polgeo.2023.102925
OpenAlex
W4383506026
Cited by
217
References
1
Citations by year
2026: 59 · 2025: 92 · 2024: 62 · 2023: 4
FWCI
213.34
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Political Geography (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
  • Dipòsit Digital de Documents de la UAB (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
  • Utrecht University Repository (Utrecht University) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
Funders
  • Norges Forskningsråd (321659)
  • Belgian Federal Science Policy Office (B2/20E/P1/EPICC)
  • Research Foundation Flanders (12ZA921N)
  • Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (CEX2019-000940)
  • Educational Foundation of America
  • Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Political Science and International Relations › European Union Policy and Governance
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Political Economy and Marxism
  • Social Sciences › Political Science and International Relations › Social Sciences and Humanities
Keywords
European Green Deal, green colonialism, Green New Deal, climate policy, greenhouse gas emissions reduction, colonialism, neocolonialism, securitization, EU external relations, trade and investment, environmental crisis

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