Dr Julio Rodriguez

Julio is an anthropologist who is passionate about studying human relationships with the environment. For his Master's degree (KU Leuven), he studied the ambivalent relationship Cofán people of the Ecuadorian Amazon had with oil exploitation, following decades of toxic spills. Afterwards, for his DPhil (University of Oxford) he focused on the ways Galapagos farmers cope with the compounding risks of COVID-19, climate change, and agricultural pests. He developed the coexistential rift concept to describe how the globalization of 'manufactured risks' heightens people’s anxiety and sense of alienation, generating a vicious cycle of market dependency and debt peonage.

For the ReSET project, Julio will be embarking on archival and ethnographic research in Montserrat to investigate how local communities interact with the Soufrière volcano and their views on the fair extraction of rare earth metals and geothermal energy in the future. Understanding local perspectives and needs is crucial for ensuring that these activities benefit the community while also addressing the challenges of climate change. Establishing a social license and promoting equity are extremely important for sustainable energy transition across the globe.