Oil on the fire: Leaving Fossil Fuels Underground: The Role of Civil Society in the Renewable Energy Transition

OIL ON THE FIRE

Leaving Fossil Fuels Underground: The Role of Civil

Society in the Renewable Energy Transition

Case Study of Ghana

Tim Sander Reijsoo Student Number: 11393076 Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Joyeeta Gupta Second Reader: Dr. ir. Yves van Leynseele

Date of Submission: 5 October, 2020

University of Amsterdam Graduate School of Social Sciences MSc International Development Studies

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Abstract

In order to prevent climate change fossil fuel reserves need to remain underground and cannot be burned. This means that the majority of fossil fuels become stranded resources. However, many countries in the developing world claim that it’s their right to exploit fossil resources in order to develop, similarly to how Western nations have utilized their fossil reserves in the past, and still do. This study looks at the role of civil society in the energy transition in Ghana i.e. decarbonization and leaving fossil fuel underground. The reason to focus on this social set of actors is due to their cataclysmic dynamic in making governments take climate change seriously. There is currently limited literature on the risk that stranded assets pose for developing countries and the detrimental effects of carbon lock-in in a time when the world is moving away from fossil fuels. Ghana is a developing country which recently discovered oil reserves in commercial quantities and started oil extraction in production since 2011. The research question is: How do civil society organizations in Ghana address the issue of leaving fossil fuels underground and contribute to the energy transition away from fossil fuels? The research consisted of around ten semi-structured interviews and looked at over fifty policy documents regarding Ghana’s oil extraction and monitoring, as well as policy documents regarding Ghana’s energy sector development. The findings were that environmental NGO’s emphasized the transition towards renewable energy systems and are mainly developing platforms for civil society to encourage public awareness of energy related issues and climate change. However, other civil society institutions that were more government related emphasized the necessity of exploiting the fossil fuel reserves in order for Ghana to develop socio-economically. These kind of policies can’t be reconciled with the Paris Agreement as they aim to exploit their fossil reserves entirely. Since oil extraction has begun in Ghana its domestic energy supply has become more depended on fossil fuels. Instead of catching up by exploiting fossil fuel reserves, Ghana will only fall more behind, given the rate of global decarbonization. So far domestic employment in the fossil fuel sector has been disappointing and the employment opportunities of the renewable sector are largely ignored by policymakers. The positive findings in Ghana were its relatively strong civil society organizations and platforms regarding mobilizing public support for political engagement. The renewable energy systems that have most potential in Ghana according to the main environmental NGO’s are off grid solar panels, medium scale hydro-power dams and large scale wind farms. The government should therefore take the development of renewable energy systems as least as serious as they currently do with offshore oil extraction and production.

2 Acknowledgements

I would like to express my gratitude to certain individuals who have fulfilled invaluable, as well as inspiring, guidance throughout this entire research process.

I don’t think writing this thesis would have been as enjoyable, or even possible, without the limitless enthusiasm and dedication of my supervisor Professor Joyeeta Gupta and her PhD assistant Arthur Rempel. Their expertise and experience have thought me a lot.

I would also like to thank my study advisor Eva van der Sleen, for providing besides administrative assistance, also mental support in times desperately needed.

Needless to say, a word of thanks goes out to all the organizations in Ghana who have been so kind and willing to provide me with their time and knowledge. Without their contributions on the reality of life in Ghana this thesis would have remained just an idea.

Last and by no means least, I would like to thank my family for always supporting me in my endeavours and helping me to achieve my life goals.

Perhaps a last word of thanks is meant for the Royal Dutch Airlines, as without their special emergency expatriation flights, I would have still been stuck in a Corona pandemic ridden Ghana.

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Table of Contents

Abstract ... 1

Introduction ... 5

1.1. Problem Definition of Global warming ... 7

1.2. The Right to Development ...10

1.3. Gap in Knowledge ...12

1.4. Research Purpose ...13

1.5. Structure of Thesis ...14

Theoretical Framework ...15

2.1. Introduction ...15

2.2. Sustainable Development Theory ...15

2.3. Stranded Resources and Stranded Assets ...20

2.4. Civil Society Theory of Change ...22

2.5. Critical Social Movement Theory & Decolonialism ...24

2.6. Conceptual Scheme ...27

Research Methodology ...29

3.1. Introduction ...29

3.2. Data collection methods ...29

3.3. Research Location ...30

3.4. Sampling ...30

3.5. Unit of Analysis ...30

3.6. Methodological Reflection ...31

3.7. Limitations of the research ...33

3.8. Ethical Reflection...33

4. Research Location and Context...35

4.1. Introduction ...35

4.2. Oil Discovery and Climate Change in Ghana ...35

4.3. Political Situation of Ghana ...38

4.4. Climate Change Awareness in Ghana ...39

4.5. Conclusion ...40

5. Oil On The Fire: Renewable Energy versus Oil in Ghana ...41

5.1. Introduction ...41

5.2. Challenges Confronting Renewable Energy in Ghana ...41

5.3. Renewable Energy Potential in Ghana ...44

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5.5. Problems Related to Oil...49

5.6. Impact of Corona on Oil in Ghana ...52

5.7. Conclusion ...54

Civil Society Organizations on the Ground ...56

6.1.Introduction ...56

6.2. Strategies CSO’s Ghana ...56

6.3. Educating local Communities ...58

6.4. Influence of Digital Technologies on CSO ...59

6.5.International Solidarity and Funding Support ...60

6.6.Monitoring the Oil Revenues ...60

6.7. Phasing out Fossil Fuels and Stranded Assets ...62

6.8. Conclusion ...64

7: Conclusion and Policy Recommendations ...66

7.1. Introduction ...66

7.2. Summary of Findings ...66

7.3. Theoretical Reflection ...68

7.4. Future Scenarios Ghana ...70

7.5. Policy Recommendations: Steps to phase out fossil fuels ...73

5

Introduction

Our planet is warming faster and faster, with more tipping points being breached faster than even the most optimistic climate scientists predicted. In 2019 Greenland's ice sheet lost an annual record of 532 billion tons of ice, with 223 billion tons of ice lost during the month of July alone (King et al., 2020). In fact, Greenland’s ice sheet melted more last year than any year previously recorded (Sasgen et al., 2020). Worse even, Greenland's ice sheet has melted to a point of no return, and efforts to slow global warming will not stop it from disintegrating (Velicogna et al., 2020). Needless to say, rising greenhouse gas emissions (GHG), primarily from the burning of coal, oil and gas, are the main cause of these and other catastrophic events of ecological disruptions we refer to as global climate change. The most important gas responsible for this is carbon dioxide (CO2). An average global temperature rise exceeding 1.5-2°C would cause catastrophic and irreversible damage to the Earth’s natural resource systems. Humanity would inadvertently experience detrimental effects such as; famine due to significantly reduced crop yields; more frequent destructive and extreme weather events like floods and hurricanes; water shortages; vanishing of coastal regions and island states; loss of numerous species; the spread of infectious diseases, and impede the development prospects of countries. To tackle climate change the solution is simple: we need to reduce CO2 emissions to virtually zero by the middle of the century, requiring a rapid rate of reduction from now. In order for this transition to materialize investment needs to switch rapidly and decisively away from fossil fuels to renewable energy systems. To help governments create robust climate change policies based on science, the carbon budget approach has been developed. Analogous to a household budget, the budget tells us how much CO2 we can spend and not exceed a 2°C rise in temperature. The inevitable conclusion from the commitment by the world’s governments to protect humanity from climate change is that the vast bulk of fossil fuel reserves cannot be burned. To have a fifty percent chance of preventing a 2°C rise in global temperature: 88% of global coal reserves, 52% of gas reserves and 35% of oil reserves are unburnable and must be left in the ground (Steffen, 2015). Put simply, tackling climate change requires that most of the world’s fossil fuels be left in the ground, unburned. To have any chance of preventing a temperature rise of no more than 2°C, it is clear that new investment in fossil fuels needs to be reduced to zero as soon as possible (Xu & Ramanathan, 2017).

However, fossil fuels are currently still a major source of energy production; in 2015, fossil fuels accounted for 65% of global energy production, while the remaining 35% came from non-fossil fuel sources including both nuclear and renewable energy. This means that the

6 gargantuan multinational fossil fuel firms, like Shell, BHP Billiton, and Chevron (who own the vast majority of fossil fuel reserves) and smaller renewable energy companies must play a critical role in leaving fossil fuels underground (LFFU). Undoubtedly, phasing out fossil fuel is a challenging issue. There are many arguments for and against such phase out; and different actors have different kinds of arguments (Bos & Gupta 2018). These different arguments often align with different goals and targets within the Sustainable Development Goals (e.g. the right to develop entails exceeding the carbon budget). Moreover, the challenge of leaving fossil fuels underground has implications for indigenous groups (in Ecuador, Kenya, Ghana etc.) whose lands are exploited for extractive resources. In other words, the leaving of fossil fuels underground would not only contribute to a stable climate for future generations but it could also help securing the livelihoods and wellbeing of indigenous people and local communities in different parts of the world (Blaser, 2013; Gladwin, 2019). In spite of the clear threat climate change poses for human civilization, the world’s economy remains predominantly fuelled by the burning of fossil fuels, whereas governments still subsidize fossil fuel consumption and developing countries continue to place hopes in finding oil and developing oil production facilities. Multinational companies profiting of these fossil resources will do everything in their power to slow down fossil fuel phase out, while most governments have until now shown disappointing results in mitigating climate change and transition to renewable energy systems. It seems civil society will play a crucial role in mitigating climate change and put pressure on governments to move away from fossil fuels and put in place the necessary legislations to reduce GHG emissions.

Considering the above, there is a need to understand the impact civil society is having on the use and development of fossil fuels within developing countries, meeting GHG emission targets, implementing sustainable development, and how civil society can be more effective in phasing out fossil fuel use. Therefore the aim of this research project is to understand the role civil society is playing in the Global South in mitigating climate change and addresses the issue of leaving fossil fuels underground by looking at Ghana. Put differently, societal change and transformation requires a delicate interaction and cooperation of different sectors of society, both at the macro and micro level. Government legislation, the private sector, individual consumer behaviour, as well as civil society and social movements, all have their role to play when it comes to radical societal transformation.

7 I decided to focus on civil society because I take civil society to have a cataclysmic effect and dynamic in the overall process of societal transformation and in creating collective climate change awareness in particular i.e. contribute to leaving fossil fuels underground.

This chapter first defines and explains the real life problem of which this research is concerned with in more detail, as well as discuss how climate change is as much a political as an ecological issue. Then the gap in knowledge will be discussed and the purpose of this research, outlining the main research question and sub questions, and ends with an overview of the thesis.

1.1. Problem Definition of Global warming

In 2014, the IPCC presented scientific consensus (for the fifth time since 1990), that the earth’s climate system is unequivocally warming. This is due to an increase in concentration of GHGs, attributed to human industrial activity caused by social development and economic growth (IPCC, 2014: 4). Fossil fuels are the primary cause of increased GHG emissions and the largest contributor to climate change. Evidence that irreversible changes in Earth’s climate systems are underway means we are in a state of planetary emergency. It must be noted that climate change is not a linear process. The climate system includes feedback loops that have the potential to greatly accelerate climate disruption (Driesen, 2014). A cascade of tipping points could amount to a global tipping point, where multiple earth systems march past the point of no return. The idea of tipping points was introduced 20 years ago by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Examples include the loss of the Greenland ice sheet as mentioned above, the loss of the West Antarctic ice sheet, the Amazon rainforest, and extensive thawing of permafrost, as well as other key components of the climate system (see figure 1). These are considered “tipping points” because they can cross critical thresholds, and then abruptly and irreversibly change the climatic system. Just as a 200-year-old tree in a forest can remain standing after 20 blows from a sharp axe, the 21st blow may suddenly topple it. It should be stressed that at a temperature rise of two degrees or more, we will be closer to the risk of crossing thresholds and tipping points, or large scale discontinuities.

The Earth’s climate and ecological systems are deeply intertwined. Powered by heat energy from the sun, the atmosphere, oceans, ice sheets, living organisms like forests, and the soils all affect, to a greater or lesser extent, the movement of that heat around the Earth's surface. The interactions among the elements of our global climate system mean a substantial

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Figure 1: Visualizing earth’s tipping points and their interdependencies

Source: Lenton et al (2019)

change in one will affect others. As that 200-year-old tree falls after the 21st blow, it can crash into other trees, knocking them over in a domino-like effect. Scientists are warning that this may be happening in the climate system; different tipping points are beginning to slowly crash into each other causing exponential global warming (Lenton, 2012). The loss of Arctic sea ice in summers over the last 40 years means that there is more heat-absorbing open water and 40 percent less reflective ice. That is amplifying regional warming in the Arctic, leading to increased thawing of the arctic permafrost, in turn releasing more carbon dioxide and methane into the atmosphere, adding to global warming etc. In other words, runaway global warming is a possibility, where consequences of our previous actions set up a cycle of warming that we cannot prevent through emission reductions. The possibility of calamitous warming exceeding the amount predicted by most models cannot be ruled out, partially because of these sorts of feedback loops (Krieger et al., 2009). Moreover, because of the cumulative nature of the emissions, the importance of carbon dioxide to the overall problem, and the seriousness of the potential consequences of increasing climate disruption, fossil fuels must be phased out long before they run out. This makes energy policies that continue to support substantial fossil fuel use inconsistent with tackling climate change (see figure 2).

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Figure 2: Average rise in global temperatures

Source: Ritchie, H. & Roser, M. (2017) Website our world in data

The international community came to an agreement in 2015 at the United Nations conference on climate change held in Paris. The ensuing Paris Agreement its central aim is to keep a global temperature rise this century well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels and to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase even further to 1.5 degrees Celsius (PA, 2015). Additionally, the agreement aims to strengthen the ability of countries to deal with the impacts of climate change and is thereby a direct expression of the sustainable development goal number 13 on climate action. To reach these ambitious goals, appropriate financial flows, a new technology framework and an enhanced capacity building framework will be put in place, thus supporting action by developing countries and the most vulnerable countries, in line with their own national objectives (IPPC, 2014). Strong policies have generally done well at encouraging innovation and without strong policies encouraging the development of renewable energy systems, fossil fuels are going to wreak havoc on our planet. Five years after Environmental Rights Action (ERA) was founded in Nigeria, Nnimmo Bassey would write in 1998, “we thought it was oil, but it was blood” (Temper et al., 2013: 170). By now his phrase, which was originally coined to describe the situation of Nigeria, might just as well be used to describe the world at large.

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1.2. The Right to Development

Climate change is not just an environmental issue, it is also a political, social and economic issue within and between the different nations (Gupta & Grijp, 2010). Most likely climate change will exacerbate tensions between the Global North and Global South. The industrial countries have emitted the majority of GHG emissions responsible for global warming, whereas the developing countries have contributed far less yet are most vulnerable to its impacts. However, pollution and destructive environmental impacts are distributed unequally not only amongst countries, also globally we find that those most impacted by extractive projects continue to be poor communities and indigenous people. For example, indigenous communities constitute five percent of the global population yet fifteen percent of the extremely poor (at least in monetary terms), and they are affected in no less than forty percent of the cases documented in the Environmental Justice Atlas (Temper et al., 2018). Ghana undoubtedly will be among the countries to suffer the worst of climate change impacts while its contribution to global CO2 emissions is negligible. This highlights the social and political nature of climate change and refutes those who claim that smog, pandemics, earthquakes and climate change would be democratic and mere natural, instead of social disasters, as they supposedly affect us al indiscriminately (Beck, 1992). This kind of socio-political division regarding who bears the negative consequences of supposedly natural disasters holds within Ghana as well. This is exemplified by the fact that poor communities depending more directly on ecosystem services and a healthy natural environment for their livelihood stand to lose first and most as a consequence of a deteriorating climate. On the other hand, the wealthier classes in Ghana will be more resilient because their livelihoods aren’t jeopardized as directly due to effects of climate change, can afford to buy imported produce in case harvests drastically fail, and will be more likely to migrate to better areas in a worst case scenario.

Hence, the worst impacts of climate change will befall on the developing countries, and on the most vulnerable among them, making climate change an international equity and justice issue (Gupta, 2014: 20). In fact, concepts like energy justice or energy sovereignty are meant to emphasize the inherent racism in world energy production and consumption:

“Even though activities related to the exploration, extraction, refining and transportation of coal, natural gas and oil, predominantly affect socially, politically and economically discriminated local communities, these communities at the same time are often also those which consume the least amount of energy, yet suffer the greatest impacts” (Temper et al. 2013: 178).

11 This aspect of the inherent injustice of climate change in effect reiterates that the countries that are most responsible for climate change are least effected, while the countries that have emitted the least bare the greatest dangers related to climate change.

On the other hand, a stable climate is a global public good as it underlies economic growth and sustains humankind, causing the issue of climate change to be a global commons problem (World Bank, 2013). Without large scale international cooperation and assistance the catastrophic impacts of climate change will be inevitable. Needless to say, both industrialised and developing countries need to phase out fossil fuel use and transition to renewable energy systems (Driesen, 2014). This equates to an uneven and substantial challenge for developing countries compared to industrialized countries, as they lack adequate funding, governance, technology and infrastructure required to phase out fossil fuels (World Bank, 2010). This in turn is complicated by the argument that such obligations limit developing countries in the “Right to Development”(RtD) as they rely on GHG intensive industries for fast economic growth, similar to the industrialised countries did in the past and do so today (Gupta, 2014). In other words, the energy transition needs to take into account the respective capabilities and common but differentiated responsibilities of developed and developing countries (Gupta & Grijp, 2010). Since industrialized countries are both more responsible as well as far better equipped to deal with the impacts of climate change given their disproportionate share of global wealth, it is no more than a matter of justice, that they compensate and support developing countries in the transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy (see figure 3). These expectations have been made into (soft and hard) obligations through many global climate change agreements. Unsurprisingly, financing such obligations has continuously remained an impasse. One very particular example was the Yasuni ITT proposal in Ecuador. This proposal aimed to make the international community compensate Ecuador financially if it left its fossil reserves underground. By doing so, Ecuador would significantly contribute to reducing global GHG emissions at its own cost. Unfortunately the proposal was dropped by the government is 2014 and oil extraction in the Amazon forest began, showcasing once again that climate change is fundamentally a global commons problem i.e. no country individually feels responsible for the climate emergency, yet all nations desperately depend on a healthy climate for their individual survival. Nevertheless, the key element of the Yasuni ITT proposal is that it is a reaction against climate politics as usual and a push-back against the post-political carbon consensus that has emerged focusing on technocratic solutions such as emissions reductions and market solutions to market disasters enshrined in Kyoto (Swyngedouw, 2013). In doing so,

12 it provided a clear goal for where the international community their main aspirations and policy concerns should be at.

Figure 3: Distribution of global wealth 2010-2015

Source: UNRISD, 2016

1.3. Gap in Knowledge

The gap in knowledge this thesis mainly aims to contribute to is the lack of literature on how social movements and civil society organizations influence the renewable energy transition in developing countries. When searching for “leaving fossil fuels underground Ghana”, no results were found. The majority of the literature on fossil fuels in Ghana deal almost completely with methods of how to extract newly discovered oil reserves, and the corresponding economic strategies its government should employ to avoid falling in the so called resource trap (Kopinski et al 2013; Ayelazuno 2014; Phillips et al. 2016). As such there is a major gap in the knowledge that addresses the topic of leaving fossil fuels underground, and the financial risk of stranded assets in a time when the world is moving away from fossil fuels (Bos & Gupta, 2019; Gupta & Bos 2018). When searching “phasing out fossil fuels Ghana”, again the only academic results dealt with phasing out fossil fuel subsidies, but there was no academic material on phasing out

13 fossil fuels in Ghana. Moreover, the literature on social movements in Ghana is also rather limited, whereas the scarce literature there is on social movements doesn’t deal with the issue of leaving fossil fuels underground, but with other environmental and social issues (Langdon 2010; Elongue & Vandyck 2019). Another theoretical contribution of this research is to fill a gap in scholarly literature regarding the social and political dynamics of civil society in the Global South, in particular a lack of understanding how CSO’s could play a vital role in prohibiting and mitigating climate change (Martin 2015; Porta & Diani 2015). Although there has been a lot of scholarly work on social movements and civil society, the academic field restricts itself predominantly to the Western world. Even in the most comprehensive anthology on social movements by Oxford (2015) the editors admit that “while we have tried to expand the focus of the research beyond the Western world, we must acknowledge that a sustained conversation with analysts located outside the Western world is still missing, and our focus on non-Western topics remains limited.” (Porta & Diani, 2015: 24). As such this research will expand the scholarly debate on social movements and civil society organizations in the Global South since the focus is on the renewable energy transition in Ghana.

1.4. Research Purpose

This thesis aims to examine the role of civil society in phasing out fossil fuel use within the Global South and which strategies they utilize in pressuring governments to leave fossil resources underground. Moreover, this study aims to address the understudied areas identified as a gap in academic literature on this topic and to gain a broader insight and depth of this. This thesis forms part of a comparative study with several other theses from the international development graduate program, with the aim to compare results and release an academic publication. The combined studies have analysed the respective roles, contributions and possibilities of civil society, social movements, export credit agencies, and philanthropy, in leaving fossil fuels underground and phase out fossil fuel use in the Global South. The countries that were selected and focused on are predominantly developing countries active in, or developing, fossil fuel extraction and production systems and infrastructure. Ghana was chosen as it met several requirements: 1) developing country involved in fossil fuel extraction and production, 2) active and strong civil society, 3) its development trajectory severely burdened by climate change e.g. temperature increases leading to climate disruptions and effecting agricultural output and loss of livelihoods.

14 Main research question:

How do social civil society organizations and social movements in Ghana address the issue of leaving fossil fuels underground and contribute to the transition towards a carbon neutral energy system?

Sub questions:

What is the current situation of Ghana’s renewable energy development? Is the government of Ghana developing renewable energy systems?

What is the current state of Ghana’s oil sector development? Which problems are related to Ghana’s oil production?

What are the main activities and strategies employed by CSO’s in Ghana to address the issue of leaving fossil fuels underground and encourage renewable energy systems?

Are CSO’s in Ghana familiar with the discourse on and related danger of asset stranding?

1.5. Structure of Thesis

This thesis is made up of seven chapters. Chapter one serves as an introduction. Chapter two outlines the key theories and academic debates surrounding civil society and social movements, sustainable development, and stranded assets. Chapter three outlines the research methodology, along with the qualitative methods and sampling strategy used to collect and analyse the data. The fourth chapter outlines why Ghana was selected as choice of case study, providing contextual background on Ghana’s oil and gas industry, the development of Ghana’s political society, and the most alarming effects climate change pose for Ghana’s social and economic development. Chapter five and six examine and analyse the data, providing answers to the sub questions. The final chapter discusses and concludes these findings in context of the theoretical framework, answering the main research question, and provides policy and further research recommendations, as well as conceptual reflections.

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Theoretical Framework

2.1. Introduction

This chapter seeks to explore the theoretical debates within which this thesis is immersed and how they guide the empirical data analysis and interpretation generated by the research. First, as sustainable development is the frame for this study, it outlines the theories behind sustainable development and its relation to climate change, explaining why phasing out fossil fuels is essential to put developing countries on sustainable development pathways. Second, this chapter discusses stranded assets as a conceptual approach because the financial risks associated with fossil fuels will increase in a decarbonizing world. In addition to this, the framework of civil society theory of change will be used in order to understand how developing countries can move away from fossil intensive development trajectories towards more environmentally and socially sustainable pathways i.e. enable a phase out of fossil fuel use. The fourth section discusses both the existing literature on civil society organizations and on critical social movements theory. Finally, the conceptual scheme visualizes how the central actors and main concepts of the theoretical framework are interrelated.

2.2. Sustainable Development Theory

In September 2015, the international community agreed on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development that will guide development policy and practice at national, regional and global levels for the coming 15 years. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) follow the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which successfully mobilized efforts around poverty reduction and social development, but also had shortcomings and gaps, especially regarding social equity and environmental issues. Overcoming these by forging a universal agenda that will “leave no one behind” is the ambition of the 2015 agreement and the SDGs (UNRISD, 2016: 32). Moreover, the integrated vision of the 2030 Agenda aims to go further than the MDGs by rebalancing poverty eradication and social goals with economic and ecological objectives. In doing so it attempts to avoid the typical side-lining of “softer” goals that are classified as social and ecological and which usually escape the inherent logics of profit and power in current policy making (UNRISD, 2016). It also means that traditional boundaries for classifying countries as developing or developed have to be rethought: when a sustainability lens is applied, all countries are “developing”. Climate change is one of the most pressing manifestations of the unsustainable practices of our time. It challenges the very foundations of the global economic system, based on carbon-fuelled exponential growth, which is

16 incompatible with environmental sustainability. As was previously mentioned, the risks associated with environmental and climate change are very unevenly distributed and closely linked to structural inequalities which leave disadvantaged communities more exposed and vulnerable to climate impacts: “climate change is fraught with a double injustice that leaves those least responsible for global warming the most exposed and vulnerable to its impacts. Yet its social dimensions, including the politics of transformation toward sustainability and climate change resilience, are often neglected” (UNRISD, 2016: 49).

However, the concept of sustainable development predates its official integration by the United Nations and the international political community into what is now known as the sustainable development goals or SDGs. In the 1980s The World Commission on Environment and Development defined sustainable development as “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” (WCED, 1987: 43) and that “in essence, sustainable development is a process of change in which the exploitation of resources, the direction of investments, the orientation of technological development, and institutional change are all in harmony and enhance both current and future potential to meet human needs and aspirations” (WCED, 1987:46). Thus, emphasizing the need for inter- and intra-generational equity. Increasingly governments and international institutions came to recognize the dependence of social and economic development on ecosystem services, and the conflict between economic development and the natural environment (IPCC, 2007). Thereby realizing that environmental degradation and resource depletion in the long run were going to undermine economic growth (Gupta, 2002). As such, sustainable development constitutes a more balanced and holistic approach towards social, economic and environmental aspects of development processes. The environmental aspect focuses on the health of ecological systems and to increase climate change resilience. The social aspect emphasizes a healthy condition of social, cultural and political institutions, whereas the economic element stimulates capital growth without depleting or undermining the environmental resources and assets, or ecosystem services, that are necessary for sustained economic growth and future production (Munasinghe, 2001). The SDGs aim to balance and harmonise these aspects and ideally sustainable development will be the end result.

Bringing the SDGs and sustainable development to the issue of climate change, clearly the above mentioned aspects of the social, environmental, and economic are nowhere near in a state of harmony or balance, but rather in direct opposition or contractionary to each other, as economic development is the main cause for GHG emissions and the ensuing climate catastrophe. The climate emergency will paradoxically shape, and at the same time be impacted

17 by sustainable development (Munasinghe, 2001). The issue of global climate change therefore neatly demonstrates the interconnectedness of environmental, social, political, economic, cultural and technological processes, and that it is crucial for the wellbeing of future generations that national and international policies are devised that mitigate climate change. On the one hand, climate change will limit the basis for a country’s socio-economic development, and its ability to achieve the SDGs, whereas adequate adoption of sustainable development and the SDGs will increase the capacity of a country to deal with climate change. Put differently, a country’s capacity to mitigate climate change depends upon its development path. This means that phasing out fossil fuels and transitioning to renewable energy systems is essential for mitigating climate change and achieve sustainable development.

In the introduction it was mentioned that, as the worlds appetite for fossil fuel grows, climate change will only accelerate and exacerbate (see 1.1.). Thus, fossil fuels need to be replaced with renewable energy systems, thereby making it possible for countries to keep developing without contributing to global warming (Wagner et al. 2016). Sustainable development is simply not possible without renewable energy systems. While at the international level, global environmental problems and especially global warming are often thought of as problems of developed countries, in fact populous emerging developing economies increasingly dominate growth in global emissions and resource use (see figure 4). Without participation and actions by today’s developing countries, no realistic solution is possible to any one of the global environmental problems. Better-focused and greater efforts to move to cleaner and renewable energy will be needed to ensure climate stabilization while allowing developing countries to satisfy their rapidly increasing demand for commercial energy which is linked to their development aspirations (WESS, 2011) (see figure 5). This means that development cooperation schemes, as well as national development strategies of developing countries, need to make renewable and low carbon technologies key policy concerns and priority issues. For example, energy sectors within developing countries that have not reached their maximum production level have “win-win opportunities to reduce GHG emissions, through using leapfrog technologies, such as using wind and solar energy sources” (Gupta and Grijp, 2010: 15). In fact, the current global energy transition presents itself as an unique opportunity for developing countries to catch up with industrialized countries. By joining global forces towards renewable energy systems the gap between industrial and developing countries in terms of technological capabilities and infrastructure could be significantly reduced. In the past three decades emerging economies have become leaders in terms of public research design and development research (RD&D) expenditures. They are also emerging as leaders in terms

18 of renewable energy patents (WESS, 2011:39). This challenges the conventional wisdom that new energy technologies are exclusively developed in OECD countries and then transferred to developing countries. These kinds of leapfrogging and sustainable development strategies will prevent countries from being ‘locked-in’ to carbon energy sources that will eventually become stranded assets, and embarking on paths dependent on fossil fuel economies (Bos and Gupta, 2017; UNEP, 2014). Although it must be stated that energy RD&D investments in emerging economies e.g. China, India, Mexico, South Africa, Brazil, were focused predominantly on fossil fuel and nuclear energy, with renewables and energy efficiency underrepresented (WESS, 2011). This gives reason to expect the renewable energy revolution to mainly rely on and get initiated by the industrialized countries.

Figure 4:

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Figure 5:

Source: World Economic and Social Survey 2011

Sustainable development entails a comprehensive vision on how to develop economically without jeopardizing the climate in doing so, in contrast to traditional economic development paths. However, its different dimensions and often non-linear relationships will affect its overall practice. This means that energy plans must take account of certain types of limits. First there is the biophysical limit: what is possible within planetary limits and according to the laws of nature? Second, what are the scientific-technical limits, what is doable technically? Third, there are economic limits, what is affordable? And fourth, there are socio-political limits: what is acceptable socially and socio-politically? (WESS, 2011). Hence, political/commercial will and ownership, policy decisions, the Right to Development principle, available resources, path dependency on fossil fuels and carbon lock in, are key interrelated factors that influence the scale and implementation of sustainable development (Bos & Gupta, 2017; Gupta & Grijp, 2010). Discovering large fossil fuel reserves, and this pertains in particular to the economic strategy Ghana has in mind, may lead to exclusively focus on development around these natural resources rather than broadly developing the economy; the so called resource curse or resource trap. When revenues from extraction are not re-used for

20 inclusive development aims, and dependence on the oil revenues intensifies, growth will be unsustainable in the long run. This is related to the Dutch disease hypothesis which assumes a tendency of natural resources to crowd out other exports through their effect on exchange rates, thereby hampering sustainable economic development in the long run (Gupta & Bos, 2018).

By now, sustainable development represents a global discourse which has transcended national boundaries, bringing together stakeholders across all scales, forming private-public partnerships; making civil society, commerce, and government agencies working together and forming new alliances. This allows for an analysis of North-South relationships and those that vary across global, national and local scales, as sustainable development today is a dominant development theory within current international discourse and guides international policy making (UNRISD, 2016; Gupta, 2016). Developing countries will undoubtedly continue with their economic growth for decades to come. Sustainable development theory allows for the balancing of economic aspirations with climate change mitigation schemes, thus phasing out fossil fuel use without necessarily dismissing economic growth. This is particularly relevant as forms of climate change mitigation rely on economic growth due to high implementation costs of renewable energy systems. Again exemplifying the inherently interconnectedness of the development issues discussed.

2.3. Stranded Resources and Stranded Assets

Other key concepts and theories that guide this research are those of so called stranded resources and stranded assets. A stranded asset is an asset which loses economic value well before its anticipated useful life, this can be caused by changes in legislation, market forces, disruptive innovation, societal norms, as well as environmental shocks. Whereas stranded resources are “resources which are considered uneconomical or cannot be developed or extracted as a result of technological, geographical, regulatory, political or market limitations, or changes in social and environmental norms” (Bos & Gupta, 2017: 437). This holds in particular for the natural resources of coal, oil and gas. Oil infrastructure for example has a lifetime of up to 85 years, making new investments particularly risky as fossil fuel assets may become stranded prematurely and the remaining resources may become underground stranded resources. Carbon lock in and the cost of dismantling fossil fuel infrastructure are expected to become a major economic burden for states and hence the tax payer. Related to this is the idea of a ‘carbon bubble’ i.e. unburnable carbon entails that upstream fossil fuel assets are significantly

21 overvalued, potentially creating a financial bubble with systemic implications for the global economy (Carbon Tracker Initiative, 2011; Caldecott, 2017). Social risks related to stranded assets include health risks due to environmental pollution or disasters, risks of stranded jobs as workers in the stranded assets sector lose their jobs, risks of violating the rights of local communities and indigenous people which may also lead to local violence or conflict when resource management is non-inclusive, and risks of empowering terrorists who take over facilities or who threaten sabotage of such facilities, which happened in Nigeria with devastating consequences (Bos & Gupta, 2017).

There is a growing global sense of urgency to act on climate change leading to international climate policies that advance low carbon technologies and reduce the demand and value of fossil fuels. Substantial proportions of Africa’s carbon wealth could become uneconomic to extract and process resulting in stranded resources and assets (UNU-INRA, 2019). Hence, climate change could potentially cause many of the natural resources in Africa to become stranded. The price of renewable energy is becoming more competitive because the industry is upscaling tremendously, while at the same time legislative and policy changes regarding the emission of CO2 are becoming increasingly stringent and prohibitive. Hence, besides the standard set of social, environmental and economic risks associated with natural resources (e.g. resource curse, Dutch disease), an entire new set of economic risks come along with the extraction of fossil resources and the corresponding development of production facilities and infrastructure1. For a country like Ghana in particular, given it being a newcomer to the oil sector as well as a developing economy, the risks of oil sector development and infrastructure are especially hazardous and could lead to the creation of new stranded assets. Put differently, Ghana could become “locked in” and then “locked out” by an emerging global low carbon economy (UNU-INRA, 2019: 7). Needless to say, this would be devastating for its socio-economic development.

1_{Given Africa’s population has never truly reaped the benefits of resource wealth (and with billions of dollars}

lost to capital flight and illicit financial flows) some respondents in a stakeholder survey’s by UNU-INRA even stated that stranding assets by choice could help to reverse the “resource curse” (UNU-INRA, 2019: 19).

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2.4. Civil Society Theory of Change

As the focus and unit of analysis of this research is on civil society and its role in societal change, this section discusses in more detail what is meant by civil society and civil society organizations. In addition to making clear what is meant by civil society organizations, the theory of change is elaborated on and used as an analytical lens to interpret the contribution of civil society to processes of social and political transformation in developing countries.

First of all, civil society organizations (CSO’s) are not an homogenous group. Rather, they comprise a whole range of different formal and informal organizations, including non-governmental organizations (NGOs), community based organizations (CBOs), labour unions, associations, faith-based groups and social movements. As such, civil society is defined here as the space between government, the market (businesses) and private life (family and friends) where citizens can organise themselves to pursue goals not directly related to personal or financial gain, which concern a wider group of people and are not necessarily taken care of by government (Kamstra, 2017). In practice, this means that the definition of CSO is not set in stone, may be interpreted differently by different actors, and is highly dependent on context (Hollander, 2018). In the present thesis, the acronym CSO will be used to refer to different types of civil society organizations operating in Ghana. In most cases, this will mean professional NGOs operating at the national and regional levels. What is more, CSO’s can greatly vary in their activities and operational field: ranging from the local to the international space. In most cases CSO’s tend to focus on a particular issue such as environment, human rights or health. Unsurprisingly, typologies and categorizations of NGOs or CSO’s are still underdeveloped and inconsistent across literature (Bromideh, 2011). Clearly categorizing such a broad range of organizational structures is complicated, due to their frequently overlapping and interrelated objectives and activities (Vakil, 1997; Towe et al., 2017).

Despite the concept lacking a strict demarcation from real world practice we can observe that CSO’s play an increasingly important role in transnational governance through “(1) identifying emerging issues, (2) facilitating grassroots voice, (3) building bridges to link diverse stakeholders, (4) amplifying the public’s visibility and importance of issues, and (5) monitoring problem-solving performance” (Brown & Timmer, 2006:6). In other words, CSO’s play a crucial role in changing power relations. There are many instances where states and companies have changed their policies and practices, due to being pressured, informed and or persuaded by CSO’s. The same holds for societal groups who changed their norms, values and practices

23 to become more sustainable, equitable and inclusive, due to CSO pressure. To succeed in doing so CSO’s need to be locally rooted, strong, legitimate and autonomous to perform their political roles (CIVICUS, 2020). Hence, this research takes as a point of departure and theoretical assumption that a diverse and pluralist civil society is both a goal in itself and a means to an end as it is crucial for sustainable and inclusive development, good governance and responsible citizenship.

As for the strategies and operations of CSO’s, it is important to stress a few things. Civil societies consist of both tangible aspects such as civil society organisations (CSO’s), but also of less tangible aspects such as norms and values on citizenship, social capital, and the public sphere (Kamstra, 2017). In order for CSO’s to perform their political roles and implement their advocacy strategies they need the space to so. This not only entails adequate funding and resources but also less tangible aspects such as the functioning of the public sphere and the formation and distribution of norms, values, social capital and trust in a society. The topic of political space is especially urgent as there is a worldwide trend of shrinking political space (CIVICUS, 2020). Many countries are curtailing CSO activity and civic participation. Moreover, low economic development and a low rule of law do not necessarily coincide with a weak civil society, but rather seem to change its nature from formal to informal, and because states and societies are such complex and multi-layered phenomena, they always have multiple entry-points, even in restrictive contexts. In addition to this, an increasingly accessible international civic space counteracts the problem of shrinking political space in national contexts to some extent, as it signals a trend for increasing global advocacy and global coordination of campaigning (see also 2.5.).

According to the Dutch ministry of foreign affairs, CSO’s can perform four interrelated political roles, namely an educational role, a communicative role, a representational role and a cooperative role (Kamstra, 2017): “In their educational role, CSO’s can provide citizens and politicians with information and educate them about their rights and duties. In their communicative role CSO’s provide communication channels between state and society (In practice CSO’s often foster strong links with either the state or society). In their representational role CSO’s enable citizens to monitor government and businesses and defend their rights and interests, acting as a countervailing power. This can enhance participation of marginalised groups and can also promote transparency and accountability of various types of actors. Finally, CSO’s can perform a cooperative role by working together with states, companies or societal groups. In this role they can act as alternative modes of governance by providing basic services,

24 or they can act as brokers in policy debates, linking various types of actors and generating expert knowledge through their networks” (Kamstra, 2017).

It should be noted that one of the core activities or strengths of CSO’s lies in their capacity to advocate successfully for some kind of social or political change, however big or small. Through advocacy, CSO’s can influence decision makers, promote the voice of marginalised groups, and ultimately challenge the unequal power relations which perpetuate poverty and exclusion. Advocacy is thus understood as the process of influencing actors to promote political, social and economic change on behalf of a collective interest (Kamstra, 2017).

It should be noted that the civil society theory of change elaborated above, builds on the more general theory of change models. Following Vogel (2012), “theory of change” is understood to be an umbrella term that can refer to any causal model that includes descriptions of the following four elements, also captured in a diagram and narrative: 1) context and acknowledgement of existing change processes and actors able to influence change; 2) the long-term change envisaged; 3) the process and sequence of change; and 4) assumptions on how change happens. Theory of change models are nearly always used ex ante, in the sense that they are used to predict how change is expected to happen. However, they can also be used to explain how change has happened. Theory of change was established to deal with complex social systems in which many variables influence each other. Put differently, “a complex system is one in which outcomes cannot be fully understood by studying its component parts because of path dependency, interactions, feedback loops, and emergence (Gallagher & Appenzeller, 1999: 79)”. Path dependency is the tendency for past events to shape future outcomes through enduring norms and patterns of behaviour. Feedback loops can be self-reinforcing; for example, good reviews of a technology lead to more sales, leading to more reviews, and so on. They can also be negative, or dampening, for example, bad reviews leading to falling sales (Senge, 1990). Lastly, emergence is characteristic of complex systems and generally refers to “the arising of novel and coherent structures, patterns and properties during the process of self-organization in complex systems” (Goldstein, 1999: 49).

2.5. Critical Social Movement Theory & Decolonialism

There has been limited research on social movements in Ghana, and this holds for the African continent more generally. Jonathan Langdon, a renowned scholar on strategies of social movements in Ghana, states that when it comes to research on Africa, discussions of

25 democratization far outweigh research compared to the research on African social movements. This is problematic, “especially when one considers that social movements, and their strategies for resistance and renegotiation in an age of increased privileging of global capital over localized populations, are considered critical elements in contesting what James Ferguson (2006) calls transnational governmentality” (Langdon, 2010: 373). Using Ferguson’s notion of topographies of power, the dominance of neoliberal forms of transnational governmentality in Ghana is taken into account, as is an emerging form of struggle that combines Ghanaian social movements and civil society organizations with transnational solidarity networks (Ferguson & Gupta, 2002). Increasingly civil society organizations and social movements are recognizing the failure of national attempts at contestation and have switched to transnational organizing to have effect at the national level. This holds more generally for indigenous people across the world who have organized themselves internationally against multinational corporations that are dispossessing them from their land, destroying their livelihoods, and causing pollution to their natural environments (Blaser, 2018; Escobar, 1995; 2012). As such, marginalized people throughout the world have been connecting with transnational networks of solidarity that help disseminate information on the local effects of the transnational capital and governmentality they are contesting (Langdon, 2010).

The advent of new digital communication technologies has played a vital role in enabling solidarity networks among civil society organizations and social movements in different parts of the world trying to resist transnational capital and its corresponding mayhem. Moreover, the advent of new digital technologies has transformed public communication, and the implications of those transformations for the ways in which mass contention is organized. In fact, digital means are often able to involve people in far more active roles than the spectator or bystander publics of the traditional mass media era. Following the work of Bennet and Segerberg (2013), who point at the use of digital and social media to supplement and even displace traditional mass media in terms of reaching broad publics, this research looked pays specific attention to the role of digital technologies in current day Ghana. Put differently, this research looked at whether or not digital technologies are playing a significant role in shaping the strategies of civil society organizations, not only regarding international funding and advocacy support, but also at national capacity building, mobilization and the monitoring of extractive industries.

Moreover, besides looking into the role of digital technologies, this research also attempted to analyze so called everyday forms of resistance (Scott, 1986). By everyday forms of resistance one can think of acts of a more cunning character such as sabotage, arson, theft,

26 boycotts etc. Much of the politics of subordinate groups falls into the category of everyday forms of resistance and whereas they lack a formal organizational structure and public representatives, their activities can still be considered political since, in essence their acts of resistance revolve around issues of ownership and distribution e.g. oil extraction in many countries has been obstructed by the activities of local communities in areas where the extraction was taking place.

In addition to the debates on social movements in Ghana it should be noted that given the history of colonialism, and its lasting effects, it requires a different approach and conceptualization in order to adequately grasp and evaluate its contemporary social and political dynamics, compared to for example the Netherlands. As was previously mentioned, the notion of transnational capital undermining or at least influencing Ghana’s current governmental policies in a very specific way, cannot be viewed separately from its location in the international structure of geopolitics and colonial time. Many post- and decolonial African scholars have therefore stressed that any analysis of the democratic movements and transitions across the African continent must be grounded in a much more complex understanding of the colonial state i.e. the antecedent of the contemporary state (Mamdani, 1990; Bassey, 2012). The point of such scholars is in line with Ferguson, who states that “with neoliberal policies and conditionalities, as well as the penetration of transnational capital, African states continue to be ruled in significant part by transnational organizations” (Ferguson, 2006, 100). As such, people in African countries are governed not only by their governments, but also by transnational forms of institutions and discourses, that label them as either undeveloped and poor, or developing and good. As Langdon phrases it: “African governments were reconfigured from poor to good, good being a synonym for free market liberal democracy. This discursive flourish ignored the colonial and neocolonial legacy that had contributed directly to the maintenance of the “poor” governments in the face of widespread domestic resistance, and the Bank’s own previous view that the initial implementation of structural adjustment could not be carried out under democratic conditions.” (Langdon, 2010, 376). However, transnational institutions and flows of capital govern not only developing countries. In our era of neoliberal capitalism it’s hard to argue that there are countries left unaffected by flows of capital and the bargaining power of large multinationals and financial institutions (Harvey, 2005 & 2010). More precisely, the difference might well be viewed as one of degree instead of kind, but that discussion is outside the scope of the current research project.

The consequence of being aware of and integrating such a critical decolonial perspective entails the research to be critical at all times of power relations that are shaping certain

27 discourses and legislative policies (Smith, 1999). In other words, who’s interest is being served and for what reason. Is the state and people of Ghana benefitting equally or are multinational companies increasing their profits at the cost of local people and the natural environment, as is the case in many African countries, Nigeria being the most notorious2.

2.6. Conceptual Scheme

The conceptual schematic is meant to visualize the different social actors or set of actors all playing a role in Ghana’s energy landscape, and in doing so potentially contribute to, or inhibit, the phasing out of fossil fuels and transition to renewable energy systems and technologies. The different types of arrows point to the most likely effect and relative potential influence each of the societal segment will exert on different outcomes. Thus, a wide arrow indicates a strong positive influence on the scenario it connects to, whereas a smaller arrow indicates a less probable causal relation, and a broken line indicates a weak and highly unlikely causal relation, and lastly, no line implies no causal relation except possibly a negative or obstructive one.

2_{Bearing in mind the previous section on the contemporary danger of stranded assets, from a}

decolonial perspective it could well be argued that Africa’s resources have been stranded from the colonial period onward in a sense, as the real value of resource wealth has not brought prosperity to the wider population of Africa.

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Conceptual Framework: Energy Transition Ghana

Civil Society - Monitors oil sector

- Promotes renewable energy - Raising awareness climate

change

- Monitoroil revenues

Government Ghana - Develops oil sector - Receives oil revenues - Has means to develop

renewable energy sector

Oil sector - Promotes oil - Pollutes environment - Job employment - Government revenues - Economic growth

Leaving Fossil Fuels Underground and Stranded

Assets

Renewable Energy Systems and Fossil Fuel Phase Out

Climate Change and Fossil Fuel Dependency

Renewable energy sector - Promotes renewables - Creates jobs/ employment - Government revenues - Economic growth Ghana Citizens - Consume energy - Vote politics - Searching employment - Put pressure on government

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Research Methodology

3.1. Introduction

This chapter outlines the methodology employed in this research. First, the data collection methods are discussed and the research location. Following is the sampling strategy employed and the unit of analysis. Then, a methodological reflection of the research is provided, as well as a discussion on the limitations of the research. The chapter concludes with the ethical considerations of the research.

3.2. Data collection methods

This research follows a qualitative methods approach, as this generally allows the researcher to better understand the different problems perceptions, objectives, interactions, and roles of relevant actors in a specific context (Bryman, 2012). Triangulation of different sources and methods (interviews, policy & research documents) has occurred in order to provide more comprehensive results and enhance confidence in the findings, by reducing bias that may occur when one method of data collection is used. A qualitative analysis of CSO websites and documents occurred throughout the fieldwork period in order to provide background information on local context and become acquainted with the main activities and objectives of the CSO’s. Research rapports and policy documents regarding the oil sector and renewable energy systems from both international and domestic organizations constituted another important part of the data collection and analysis. Semi-structured interviews were held with CSO representatives and government agencies during the fieldwork period to provide data relevant to all sub-questions. There were general questions to guide the interview, with space to ask follow-up questions in case greater elaboration or explanation of unclear or significant responses was needed (Bryman, 2012). The topic lists and interview guides remained flexible throughout the fieldwork and often changed based on what topics were found to be most relevant, new topics that emerged from other interviews, or topics that required further elaboration. In total, ten interviews were conducted. On average, these interviews lasted about 45 minutes. If permission was granted, these interviews were recorded and ultimately transcribed. On top of that, fifty policy and research documents were analysed.

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3.3. Research Location

A large portion of the fieldwork for this research took place in Accra, the capital of Ghana, where many of the main offices of CSO’s are located. This was an important starting point for interviewing several key respondents. One CSO interview was also held in Tema, Ghana’s industrial and port. Most of the communities that CSO’s were operating in consisted of coastal and rural communities, although some also specialized specifically on issues in urban areas. To be sure, nearly all of the interviews took place at offices in Accra, Ghana.

3.4. Sampling

The sampling method used to reach representatives of CSO’s, NGO’s and government agencies consisted primarily of snowball sampling (Bryman, 2012). Before arriving in the field I was already able to identify several CSO’s active in advocating for renewable energy and addressing environmental concerns. After every conducted interview I asked the CSO representatives to identify other relevant organizations that would be willing to participate, in order to ensure that I could create the most comprehensive collection of information. These representatives often provided the contact details of representatives for other CSO’s as well.

3.5. Unit of Analysis

The main unit of analysis were civil society organizations, mostly NGO’s and to a lesser extent social movements, as the main goal of this research is to understand how civil society organizations or social movements address the issue of leaving fossil fuels underground. In many other developing countries where fossil fuels and mineral resources are found these social movements are led by indigenous groups because their way of life is directly being threatened by fossil fuel resource extraction. Today we see that indigenous groups and local communities from different parts of the world are increasingly collaborating with civil society organizations in order to have a unified voice in the international political arena. Consequently, the organization of civil society dynamics on a local and international level might differ in certain respects, while also share similarities in other aspects. A better understanding of CSO’s regarding the leaving of fossil fuels underground will be necessary for society at large to effectively combat climate change, but also to enhance the theoretical understanding of civil society and the political dynamics surrounding resource extraction in developing countries.

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3.6. Methodological Reflection

The research conducted was entirely qualitative, and since there is considerable unease about the simple application of the reliability and validity criteria associated with quantitative research to qualitative research, I decided to replace these criteria with alternative criteria that nevertheless show parallels. The criteria for assessing the quality of this qualitative research, adapted by Bryman (2012) from Lincoln and Guba (1985 & 1994), will be used. This involves assessing the quality of the research in terms of two primary criteria, namely trustworthiness and authenticity. Trustworthiness is made up of four criteria, each of which has an equivalent criterion in quantitative research:

1. credibility, which parallels internal validity; 2. transferability, which parallels external validity; 3. dependability, which parallels reliability; 4. confirmability, which parallels objectivity.

As for the authenticity criteria, this relates to the possible ways in which the research can be said to have a social and political impact. The sub-criteria mentioned in Bryman (2012) are the following:

1. Fairness: Does the research fairly represent different viewpoints among members of the social setting?

2. Ontological authenticity: Does the research help members to arrive at a better understanding of their social milieu?

3. Educative authenticity: Does the research help members to appreciate better the perspectives of other members of their social setting?

4. Catalytic authenticity: Has the research acted as an impetus to members to engage in action to change their circumstances?

5. Tactical authenticity: Has the research empowered members to take the steps necessary for engaging in action?

To be sure, the research is in line with the view of constructionist social ontology. This ontological stance assumes there to be no absolute truth regarding the social world of which the social scientist is meant to discover this truth. Instead I deem a social ontology which acknowledges the possibility of multiple accounts of the same social reality to be more adequate in getting to grips with the messy intricacy of real life social settings and relationships.