The international political economy of waste to energy - PEGFA Seminar

9th Feb 2026 5pm - 6:45pm

Greenwich Campus

QM369

This event is part of PEGFA’s seminar series where current research papers are presented and discussed. It will be split into two sessions, in the second talk we will hear Vera Weghmann present their paper on 'The international political economy of waste to energy', which is described in the abstract below. 

More details about the first talk and other PEGFA seminars

Global waste is expected to rise by 70% by 2050. Against this backdrop the Waste to Energy (WtE) industry is rapidly expanding. This paper examines the global political economy driving the rise of privatised WtE, its environmental and social consequences, and the growing resistance to it. Drawing on a transnational methodology, the research analyses WtE and the resistance against it not as a series of isolated national developments but as part of an interconnected system shaped by international finance, lobbying, and long-term private contracts and interconnected struggles of for waste prevention and against WtE. The paper highlights key cases of opposition and explores how public ownership can enable alternatives focused on waste prevention and circularity. Examples from Denmark and Slovenia show that public governance can avoid waste lock-ins and support integrated systems. Empirically based on 23 interviews with global stakeholders, the study contributes conceptually to remunicipalisation debates and calls for democratic, publicly owned waste governance aligned with environmental and social justice. By bringing together a historical materialist political economy perspective with the literature on remunicipalisation and public ownership, the article offers a critical lens on the global expansion of privatised WtE and the struggles to build public alternatives.

Presenter:
Vera Weghmann

Location:
University of Greenwich, Queen Mary Building, QM369

Teams (Online) details:

Meeting ID: 319 421 430 872 5
Passcode: N9eW6W66

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CURRENT STAFF; GENERAL PUBLIC; RESEARCH COMMUNITY

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