In the context of a global transition away from fossil-fuelled energy production, the coming shift to low-carbon electromobility will require substantial increases in the extraction of so-called...Show moreIn the context of a global transition away from fossil-fuelled energy production, the coming shift to low-carbon electromobility will require substantial increases in the extraction of so-called energy transition materials. Critical for the production of battery-based electric vehicles, lithium represents a metal whose accelerating extraction in the Chilean salt flats of Atacama and its local consequences are set to pose fundamental questions for the sustainability of the global political economy. In my thesis, I view lithium extraction through an extractivist lens, exploring how corporate sustainability reporting discursively frames and justifies extractive activities in light of shifting global contexts. My point of departure is rooted in critical discourse analysis: Using frame analysis in a qualitative methodological approach, I analyze documents published by the Sociedad Química y Minera (SQM), one of Chile’s foremost lithium producers, to answer the following research question: To what extent are discourses of sustainability employed to legitimize the persistence of lithium extractivism in Chile in the context of the global energy transition? I argue that through its sustainability policies and reporting, SQM develops a corporate brand that situates the company at the intersection of local sustainable development and global climate action. The sustainability frames it employs establish a narrative in which the extraction of natural resources, particularly energy transition metals, becomes a global necessity – SQM positions itself as part of the solution, rather than the cause of socio-environmental challenges. In this way, extractivist modes of economic organization perpetuate themselves through discursive auto-insertion in global visions of more sustainable futures.Show less
