Climate change, energy, and slavery? Tracing the modern connections and impacts

[Benjamin Sovacool]

Dear all,

 

Ever since graduate school, I have enjoyed reading the work of Prof. Kevin Bales, perhaps the world’s leading expert on modern slavery.

 

Inspired by dual keynotes we gave at the Climate Justice Summit last year in Glasgow, Kevin and I have teamed up to look more closely at the troubling connections between energy, climate change, and modern slavery:

 

Bales, K and BK Sovacool. “From forests to factories: How modern slavery deepens the crisis of climate change,” Energy Research & Social Science 77 (July, 2021), 102096, pp. 1-9.

 

We look at how energy insecurity and climate change exacerbate slavery; but also how slavery contributes to climate change and environmental rapaciousness.  Very interestingly, we argue that abolishing modern slavery may be one of the single most important things (as well as one of the potentially quickest, and most cost-effective) we can do to fight climate change. 

 

The study is gold open access and therefore available to all at https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214629621001894.

 

Sincerely,

 

Benjamin (and Kevin)