Emerging Anthropocene Landscapes: The Energy Frontier and Assemblages in the Arid Lands of Northern Kenya
Emerging Anthropocene Landscapes: The Energy Frontier and Assemblages in the Arid Lands of Northern Kenya
Thursday, 10 July 2025: 15:30
Location: FSE036 (Faculty of Education Sciences (FSE))
Oral Presentation
This presentation examines how 'patchy Anthropocene' landscapes are being created by renewable energy development in Kenya, focusing on the convergence of social, ecological and material environments.
Since the Industrial Revolution, the use of fossil fuels has increased greenhouse gases and is driving the Anthropocene, a period in which human activity is impacting all life. On the other hand, green hydrogen development, particularly in Kenya, is seen as key to decarbonization and energy dominance, with arid areas becoming essential for renewable energy and low-cost hydrogen production. This area is shaped by geological factors such as sunlight and tectonic activity, are becoming energy resource frontiers.
Pastoralism has long dominated Kenya's arid lands, which have been marginalized by the state. Since 2010, renewable energy projects such as wind, solar, and hydropower have been established, leading to new aggregations of people, materials, and information. These changes are altering movement patterns, settlements, and social structures, demonstrating that the Anthropocene manifests itself differently in different regions.
This presentation explores how Kenya's green hydrogen developments are transforming marginalized areas into resource frontier, highlighting the convergence of global, national, and local dynamics in the creation of new landscapes.
Since the Industrial Revolution, the use of fossil fuels has increased greenhouse gases and is driving the Anthropocene, a period in which human activity is impacting all life. On the other hand, green hydrogen development, particularly in Kenya, is seen as key to decarbonization and energy dominance, with arid areas becoming essential for renewable energy and low-cost hydrogen production. This area is shaped by geological factors such as sunlight and tectonic activity, are becoming energy resource frontiers.
Pastoralism has long dominated Kenya's arid lands, which have been marginalized by the state. Since 2010, renewable energy projects such as wind, solar, and hydropower have been established, leading to new aggregations of people, materials, and information. These changes are altering movement patterns, settlements, and social structures, demonstrating that the Anthropocene manifests itself differently in different regions.
This presentation explores how Kenya's green hydrogen developments are transforming marginalized areas into resource frontier, highlighting the convergence of global, national, and local dynamics in the creation of new landscapes.