Petrobras’ Energy Transition Discourse: Nation, Science, and Community in 'A Brazil of Energy'

Luiz Enrique Vieira de Souza

doi:10.15448/1980-3729.2026.1.48503

Authors

Luiz Enrique Vieira de Souza Federal University of Sergipe, São Cristovão, Sergipe, Brazil. https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1523-2165

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15448/1980-3729.2026.1.48503

Keywords:

climate delay, climate rhetoric, corporate environmental communication, discourse analysis, Equatorial Margin

Abstract

This article contributes to research on fossil fuel companies’ communication strategies through an analysis of Petrobras's energy transition discourse. It focuses on the documentary series A Brazil of Energy and examines how meanings of the energy transition are constructed, negotiated, and contested through symbolic and discursive elements in text and image. The analysis reveals a “micropolitics of language,” as Petrobras legitimizes its expansion into the Equatorial Margin by portraying the transition as a project of community empowerment, scientific innovation, and reaffirmation of its historical role as Brazil’s flagship company. Metonymic strategies tie Petrobras to Brazil’s nature, geography, and relatively clean energy mix, while also invoking national pride in technological achievements. Although the company echoes global oil majors in its emphasis on development and “technological salvationism,” it stands apart through a pronounced appeal to Brazilianness. This framing positions Petrobras as a national actor advancing a localized form of climate delay discourse.

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Author Biography

Luiz Enrique Vieira de Souza, Federal University of Sergipe, São Cristovão, Sergipe, Brazil.

Luiz Enrique Vieira de Souza holds a degree in Social Sciences and a PhD in Sociology from the University of São Paulo. He was a DAAD scholarship holder at the Technische Universität Berlin, where he investigated topics related to classical social theory and the history of Germany. Between 2013 and 2017, he conducted postdoctoral research in environmental sociology at the University of Campinas (NEPAM) and worked as a visiting researcher at Beijing Jiaotong University, publishing works on Chinese government energy policies (2015). Currently, he conducts research in Environmental Sociology and Energy Transition at Federal University of Sergipe.

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