Do colonialismo verde à sustentabilidade glocal: um estudo sobre o investimento direto estrangeiro no setor de energia eólica offshore no ceará sob a perspectiva do triple bottom line

Abstract

The global energy transition has intensified the debate on offshore wind energy projects in Brazil, particularly in Ceará, due to local production capacity and the interest of foreign multinational companies. This context transforms countries in the Global South into strategic territories for large renewable energy projects, while simultaneously exposing tensions between sustainability discourses and socio-environmental impacts on local communities. However, the implementation of these parks, often led by foreign capital, can generate processes of social exclusion, territorial appropriation, and damage to marine ecosystems, highlighting practices of green colonialism. Thus, this study aims to investigate how Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the offshore wind energy sector in Ceará is articulated with glocal sustainability and green colonialism, from the perspective of the Triple Bottom Line (TBL). The research adopts a qualitative approach, based on semi-structured interviews with representatives of the economic, social, and environmental dimensions of the TBL, whose data were analyzed through thematic narrative analysis, with the aid of Atlas.ti software. The results indicate a prioritization of the economic dimension to the detriment of the social and environmental dimensions. On the social level, it is observed that these parks cause transformations in the lifestyles and cultural practices of coastal communities. On the environmental level, although framed by discourses of sustainability, these ventures reproduce dynamics of green colonialism and regulatory weaknesses by territorializing environmental risks and externalizing benefits to global actors. Additionally, the study proposes a framework that articulates the relationships between FDI, green colonialism, and glocal sustainability, contributing to the debate on sustainable energy transition. The study's contributions highlight that global energy transition goals, when driven by economic rationality, can intensify local socio-environmental risks. By adopting glocal sustainability as an analytical axis, the research highlights the need to consider global and local impacts in an integrated way, showing that the economic development of companies must advance in a manner compatible with the social and environmental pillars of the TBL. Thus, the study offers an innovative perspective in a field that is still little explored in the literature.