We live in paradoxical times. As we have discussed in previous iterations of this periodical, the climate crisis has become increasingly visible and undeniable. Yet, the clearer its impacts appear, the further away we seem from finding a real way out of the civilizational collapse that produced it. The illusion of a single world guided by progress and development has crumbled. Today, capitalism no longer sustains itself primarily through production but through the cannibalization of reproduction: devouring, destroying, and sacrificing in order to generate profit. The dialectic of value and waste runs through every dimension of life, revealing sacrifice not as an anomaly or an ‘externality’ but as the very DNA of capitalism. From Gaza—the brutal epitome of settler colonialism and the collapse of liberalism’s promises of multiculturality and recongition—to territories transformed into extractive enclaves –in North and South alike– in the name of a “green transition”, what is at stake is nothing less than the end of the promises of modernity and the waning hegemony of the West.
Yet the decline of capitalist modernity is not cause for celebration. As many theorists such as Nancy Fraser, Mackenzie Wark, Gustavo Esteva and Anselm Jappe have warned, the crisis of this system may lead not to emancipation but to more violent, cannibalistic, and necropolitical regimes. Gaza offers a glimpse of this future, exemplifying what Indigenous academic and activist Kyle Powys Whyte calls an epistemology of crisis: a mode through which capitalism legitimizes new colonial incursions and deeper exploitation of reproductive life under the guise of necessity.
Nowhere is this clearer than in the domain of energy. Building on the initial discussion we had in issue 15 of this magazine, titled "The Energy Question: From Colonial Modernity to Decolonizing Alternatives", this issue seeks to focus on understanding the way in which energy plays a central role in grasping—and at the same time identifying—pathways out of the deadlock posed by the structural crisis of capitalism. Here, a new “there is no alternative” is imposed through the discourse of a “transition” to so-called renewable energies. Elevated as a global humanitarian imperative, this transition reaffirms—rather than dismantles—the violent frameworks of extraction, militarization, and dispossession that have always defined capitalism. As environmental historian Jean-Baptiste Fressoz (2024) reminds us, the very term transition is a “plastic word”: a malleable fiction born from neoliberal governance. Energy regimes have never been about substitution but about accumulation. Wood gave way to coal without being abandoned; oil was layered on top of coal; and today “renewables” are being added without displacing fossil fuels, whose dominance in absolute terms has remained virtually unchanged for decades. The mythology of a clean break, the idea of an “era” of different sources (such as wood, coal, oil, or nuclear) or a march from “dirty past to green future”, is part of modernity’s ideology of progress.
The fetish of “renewables” obscures the continuity of extractivism, as if new technologies could erase the histories of violence embedded in their infrastructures. Ivan Illich long ago warned against conceiving energy as a commensurable unit—something abstracted into kilowatts, measurable and exchangeable—because such equivalence erases the irreducible abundance of life. Under capitalism, the very category of “renewable energy” turns relational forms of sustenance into scarcity and commodification, enclosing vitality within the logic of accumulation.
This mythology also hides the fact that every energy regime (the way capitalism organizes economy-nature relations) has been forged through imperial violence, capitalist expansion, and social control. Energy is not simply a technical resource; it is a political and spatial project, a means of organizing life and labor. From the steam engine powering colonial plantations, to hydroelectric dams flooding Indigenous lands, to lithium extraction under military protection, energy infrastructures have always been entangled with hierarchies of race, class, gender, and androcentrism. Today’s green transition continues this trajectory, as the global energy regime scrambles for cheap minerals, land and labor in the name of decarbonization reveals that accumulation—not emancipation—guides its course.
Against this backdrop, alternative ways of conceiving life and energy emerge. In Relacionalidad, Arturo Escobar, Michal Osterweil, and Kriti Sharma (2025) propose an understanding of existence that departs from the separations imposed by modernity/coloniality. Relationality names a way of being, knowing, and acting grounded in webs of interdependence between humans, nonhumans, and the more-than-human world. It is not simply about social ties, but about recognizing that life itself emerges through reciprocity, care, and co-creation. Relationality thus offers both an ontology and an ethics: a challenge to mastery, possession, and extraction, and an affirmation of conviviality and mutual sustenance. Crucially, relationality is not an abstract philosophy but a lived practice rooted in Indigenous, communal, and insurgent traditions that have persisted despite centuries of colonial violence. To embody relationality is to confront the fractures and separations imposed by capitalist modernity —between nature and culture, body and mind, individual and community—and to nurture practices of reciprocity and pluriversal coexistence. In this sense, relationality directly contests the abstraction of energy into commensurable units, re-grounding it in territory, memory, and the body.
Meanwhile, the disorientation created by overlapping crises feeds other, darker currents. Conspiracy theories, climate populism, and eco-fascist narratives channel despair into racist and patriarchal nostalgias. These are not marginal phenomena but political strategies that instrumentalize crises for reactionary ends. Against them, communities around the world insist that energy is not reducible to thermodynamics or to numbers on a grid. Energy is always relation: to territory, to history, to the body, to memory, to language, to autonomy. It is never just supply and demand—it is meaning, resistance and (re-)existence.
The "Global Confluence on Radical Democracy, Autonomy, and Self-Determination" held in Port Edward, South Africa from February 2 to 6, 2025, was organised by Global TapestryThe weaving of networks of Alternatives of Alternatives (GTAGlobal Tapestry of Alternatives), in collaboration with WoMin Alliance, Amadiba Crisis Committee (ACC), Academy of Democratic Modernity (ADM), and Jineoloji Academy. This report captures the essence of the dialogues, the key themes discussed, and the actionable commitments made by participants. It serves not only as a record of the confluence but also as a foundation for the ongoing work of building global solidarity, mutual learning, and collective action in the pursuit of radical democracy and justice.
Franco Augusto and Shail Sathi conducted a series of conversations during the "Global Confluence on Radical Democracy, Autonomy and Self-Determination" from 1 to 6 February 2025, in South Africa. The recording were produced by Franco Augusto and Basil, edited by Marco Andrade. The complete series of 16 interviews are now available in our website.
The GTA will be present in Belém for events organized around COP30, because this historic moment demands a clear and critical perspective on how climate politics is being shaped. While governments and large institutions gather to negotiate within the confines of bureaucratic frameworks, the GTA emphasizes that these spaces often fail to address the root causes of the crisis. Instead of minor adjustments or greenwashed compromises, what is urgently needed is a radical transformation of the systems driving ecological and social collapse. GTA’s presence is meant to highlight that the climate crisis cannot be solved by the same logics of growth, development, exploitation, and extractivism that produced it.
The Earthy Governance and Interspecies Justice Confluence, held on 16–17 June 2025 at the Sydney Institute for Marine Studies, brought together Indigenous leaders, activists, and scholars from across the world to reimagine forms of governance that extend beyond human-centered decision-making. Co-organized by the Global Tapestry of Alternatives and the Sydney Environment Institute, the gathering centered on Indigenous and majority world practices of autonomy, kinship, and multispecies justice. Through story-sharing, rituals, and collective reflection, participants explored how communities embed governance in relations with land, ancestors, and “Earth others.” The event sought to bridge struggles for self-determination with broader efforts to transform dominant institutions, highlighting the importance of embodied, relational, and non-appropriative approaches to justice that respect both human and more-than-human life.
As the climate and ecological crises accelerate, the Global North has promoted a range of so-called “green solutions” — including renewable energy, electric vehicles, carbon trading, and green hydrogen — as pathways to sustainability. However, beneath this narrative lies a troubling reality: the energy transition is fueling new forms of extractivism that disproportionately impact the Global South, Indigenous territories, and other marginalized regions. The shift away from fossil fuels has driven a global rush for critical minerals and rare earths, essential for manufacturing the technologies that underpin the green economy. Rather than breaking with past patterns of exploitation, these processes reproduce colonial forms of dispossession, displacing communities, degrading ecosystems, and deepening existing inequalities under the banner of green growth.
The Global Tapestry of Alternatives is a “network of networks”. Each of those networks acts in different parts of the planet by identifying and connecting Alternatives. They are the WeaversThey are local, regional, or national networks or organizations that connects or consists of multiple Alternatives on different themes/spheres, in an inter-sectorial way. A global network cannot be a Waever, neither a thematic one. It should be a collective process of some kind, rather than only a single individual or single organization. By being a "weaver", they are committed to participate in the GTA, developing ways of dialogue, interconnection, collaboration and solidarity with other Weavers. GTA promotes the interconnection of the Weavers, identifying [[:weavers:criteria|a series common criteria for the weaving of Alternatives]]. Examples: Vikalp Sangam and Crianza Mutua.. In the following section, our Weavers, the networks that currently weaves it, from India, South-East Asia, Colombia, and Mexico shares updates from their recent activities and actions.
The first-ever North East Vikalp Sangam was held in Nagaland, bringing together participants from across the region to discuss destructive development, cultural erosion, and youth livelihoods while showcasing grassroots alternatives. The Deccan Vikalp Sangam in Telangana focused on ecological, cultural, and food systems challenges in the Deccan bioregion, celebrating syncretic traditions and knowledge. The Alternative Economies Sangam convened over 100 people in Tamil Nadu to co-create pathways for just and sustainable economic systems, especially from women’s and marginalized communities’ perspectives. Alongside these gatherings, the Vikalp Sangam network launched a course on the Pluriverse of Alternatives, released an illustrated version of its Framework Note, and advanced regional dialogues through the South Asia Bioregionalism Working Group. Finally, steps were taken toward a South Asia Vikalp Sangam, with a planning meeting scheduled with groups from Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh.
From July 24 to 27, 2025, 250 people from 60 communities, organizations, and networks from different states of Mexico, Colombia, and other countries such as Spain and Germany gathered in the community of Ahlan Muc’ul Ha’, Chilón, Chiapas, Mexico, to hold the International Encounter in Defense of Life: Corn, Water, Territory, and Mother Earth. The event was convened by Crianza Mutua México (part of the Global Tapestry of Alternatives) in coordination with the Community Government of Ch’ich’, the Ahlan Muc’ul Ha’ community, the PVIFS-Chiapas Collective, the Oaxacan Water Forum (FOA), the Working Group “Bodies, Territories, Resistances” (GT Cuter) of CLACSO, CIESAS, CESMECA-UNICACH, and Crianza Mutua Colombia.
The purpose of the gathering was to share organizational experiences in the defense of life and to reflect collectively on how to confront projects and megaprojects, as well as militarization and organized crime, which threaten life. The aim was to continue weaving radical alternatives from the territorial and community base.
An EndorserAn organization, collective or thematic network that publicly expresses its support to the GTA process and it's approved by it. Examples: [[endorsements:index|Full list of current Endorsers]] is an organization, collective or thematic network that publicly expresses its support to the GTA process, and is aligned to its vision and values. EndorsersThey are organizations, collectives or thematic networks that publicly expresses its support to the GTA process and it's approved by it. Examples: [[endorsements:index|Full list of current Endorsers]] are invited by, or when self-invited, endorsed by, the Facilitation Team, and then approved by the Assembly.
From September 3rd to 7th, Local Futures organized the Planet Local Summit in Ladakh, India. With people from 25 different countries, we shared ideas, hope, and a deep sense of connection that felt both timeless and urgent.
Through the PGI's Post Growth Fellowship programme, Trimita Chakma, Majandra Rodriguez Acha, Dipti Bhatnagar and Maytik Avirama propose a radical re-thinking of philanthropy, inspired by the resilience of forest ecosystems. Drawing on the experience of the Funder Learning and Action Co-Laboratory, the authors present a “movement forest” model where funding is treated not as conditional grants, but as acts of reparations and gifts that return resources to communities on the frontlines of feminist climate justice.
The US Solidarity Economy Network (USSEN) includes diverse social movements in the United States that are developing cooperative, postcapitalist economic democratic governance, social and racial justice, sustainability, and electoral reform. We are aligned with the international Solidarity Economy (SE) movement, and committed to radical core values and the practices that bring these values to life. We actively work toward systemic transformation through dialogue, relationship-building, and collective action.
by Arturo Massol Deyá
Arturo Massol shows how the Casa Pueblo in Adjuntas, Puerto Rico, leads a community-driven “energy insurrection” that redefines solar power as a tool of decolonization and collective autonomy. Born from resistance to colonial and centralized energy systems, it has installed thousands of solar panels, developed microgrids, and pioneered the first community-governed solar cooperative. Through innovations like the Microgrid Orchestrator and the Community Laboratory for the Energy Transition, it fuses science, culture, and self-determination to build interconnected, resilient systems. This model demonstrates how grassroots initiatives can advance climate justice and inspire global alternatives to capitalism.
by Esperanza Martínez
The Yasuní struggle in Ecuador embodies a historic challenge to extractivism by crystallizing the demand to “leave oil underground” into a national referendum victory in 2023. Despite government resistance and partial non-compliance, the vote opened new legal, political, and ethical horizons for Indigenous rights, climate justice, and the rights of nature. Yasuní now stands as both utopia and heterotopia: a site of hope, resistance, and repair, but also of sacrifice, contradictions, and ecological devastation. As Esperanza Martinez explains, Yasuni mirrors the possibility of building futures centered on life rather than fossil dependency.
by Alex Jensen
In this piece, Alex Jensen critiques the industrial-capitalist technological system for manufacturing false needs, fostering ecological destruction, and eroding social well-being through high-tech dependence and planned obsolescence. Jensen shows how traditional and modern appropriate technologies (AT) embody principles of sufficiency, cooperation, durability, and ecological harmony, rooted in community life and subsistence economies. Drawing on examples from Ladakh to L’Atelier Paysan and Maya Pedal, Jensen highlights how AT aligns with degrowth by fostering autonomy, repair, and technological sovereignty.
by María Paz Aedo and Gabriela Cabaña
In this article, María Paz Aedo and Gabriela Cabaña examine Chile’s Atacama Desert and Magallanes steppe as sites of immense ecological and cultural richness now threatened by corporate-driven “green hydrogen” megaprojects. While promoted as solutions to the climate crisis, these initiatives reproduce extractivism, creating new “green sacrifice zones” that endanger ecosystems, Indigenous heritage, and local livelihoods. Drawing on the voices of Chango communities and the biodiversity of these vast territories, the authors expose how the decarbonization consensus masks inequalities and deepens dependency. Against this, they affirm a politics of sufficiency: life in these territories is already abundant, needing protection rather than industrial transformation.
by Madhuresh Kumar
Madhuresh Kumar interrogates the rhetoric of the “just transition” in Africa, revealing how green hydrogen, mineral extraction, and large-scale infrastructure projects often reproduce colonial logics of dispossession under the guise of climate action. Drawing on a conversation between activists and scholars, it shows how debt, elite complicity, and technocratic governance entrench dependency while bypassing communities. Africa’s role in the so-called green future emerges as one of sacrifice zones for global markets rather than sovereignty and justice. Yet, grassroots resistance and pan-African solidarity point toward alternatives rooted in autonomy, dignity, and popular power.
by Neelakshi Joshi and Ashish Kothari
In this article, Neelakshi Joshi and Ashihsh Kothari explore the clash between two visions of energy transition in Ladakh: locally rooted, community-led solar initiatives versus top-down mega-projects imposed by the Indian state. While Ladakhis have long practiced decentralized, ecologically sensitive energy systems, government plans for vast solar parks, transmission lines, and mineral extraction risk turning the region into a green sacrifice zone. At the heart of this conflict lies the demand for constitutional autonomy, statehood, and democratic governance to safeguard Ladakh’s socio-ecological integrity. The struggle illuminates broader global debates on energy sovereignty, pluriversal futures, and radical ecological democracy.
by Erik Post and Marisol Rosas
In this article, Erisk Post and Marisol Rosas reflect on the Energía para yeknemilis project in the Sierra Nororiental of Puebla, where Masewal and Totonac communities co-designed alternative energy systems rooted in Buen Vivir. Through “thinking-feeling” community investigators, participatory research generated eco-technologies such as wood-saving stoves and solar dryers, while reimagining energy and justice from Indigenous worldviews. The project demonstrates how collaborative research can challenge colonial energy regimes and strengthen autonomy, even as it faces limits tied to patriarchy, racism, funding, and state dependence. Ultimately, it shows how collective, decolonial praxis can power pluriversal energy transitions anchored in territorial life projects.
by Christine Dann
In this review of Jean-Baptiste Fressoz’s More and More and More and Adam Becker’s More Everything Forever Christine Dann examines how technological myth-making fuels ecological destruction and fantasies of escape. Fressoz shows that so-called “energy transitions” are additive fictions, expanding rather than replacing fossil fuels, while Becker exposes Silicon Valley’s techno-utopian dreams of AI salvation and space colonization as illusions serving elite interests. Together, the books reveal how capitalist and colonial logics perpetuate extinction under the guise of progress. They urge a reality check: resisting false promises of technological salvation and reclaiming futures grounded in justice and planetary limits.
by Madhuresh Kumar
Madhuresh Kumar reports in this article the critiques the dominant “energy transition” as a deceptive expansion of extractivism that displaces Indigenous and peasant communities under the guise of climate action. Drawing on a dialogue with Galina Angarova and Carlos Tornel, it reframes energy as a political and ontological question: energy for whom, and for what? The discussion highlights how green capitalism reproduces militarisation, corporate control, and sacrifice zones, while communities assert sovereignty, reciprocity, and the right to say no. Ultimately, it calls for reclaiming energy as a commons and building pluriversal futures rooted in memory, relationality, and collective agency.