Comunidades tradicionais pesqueiras e os desafios para uma transição energética justa em face do hidrogênio verde no estado do Ceará.

Abstract

This doctoral thesis examines to what extent legal instruments and energy sector regulation can ensure a just energy transition for traditional fishing communities along the coast of Ceará, Brazil, in the context of expanding green hydrogen projects and related infrastructure. It is grounded on the hypothesis that, although the State has established institutional conditions to attract investments and position Ceará as a strategic green hydrogen hub, the current legal framework remains insufficient to safeguard fishing territorialities, guarantee meaningful participation, and coherently integrate energy, environmental, and marine-coastal policies. The research is explanatory and qualitative, employing a dialectical method combined with doctrinal legal analysis and systematic interpretation. It also draws on documentary and bibliographic research, comparative examination of relevant international experiences, and an interdisciplinary socio-legal approach incorporating contributions from social sciences, geography, and environmental governance, as well as critical discourse analysis to assess the normative meanings attributed to “blue economy,” “development,” and “energy transition.” The findings reveal territorial tensions generated by the overlap of energy projects with traditional-use areas, weaknesses in environmental licensing procedures, insufficient institutional safeguards, and the limited consolidation of benefit-sharing mechanisms. The thesis concludes that the energy transition on the coast of Ceará can only be considered just if energy justice is recognized as a binding legal principle with direct effects on planning, licensing, and project implementation, supported by instruments such as prior consultation, recognition of community protocols, integration of marine spatial planning, and equitable benefit-sharing arrangements capable of reconciling decarbonization, ocean conservation, and territorial justice.