José Vega Araújo

José is a Research Fellow and leads the Renewable Energy Team at SEI Latin America. His work focuses on fostering just energy transitions, with an emphasis on examining how community concerns, institutional arrangements, and policy frameworks influence the equitable deployment of renewable energy. He is particularly interested in ensuring that energy transitions are socially inclusive, strengthening community participation, governance, and benefit-sharing mechanisms.

He leads IDEAR Guajira, an initiative aimed at supporting inclusive renewable energy development in La Guajira, Colombia, and has been actively engaged in policy dialogues at national and regional levels. At SEI, he has also explored the challenges and opportunities of transitioning away from fossil fuels, and the implications of a just transition in the meat sector.

Before joining SEI, José was a project advisor at the Observatory of Design and Social Innovation of the National University of Colombia and served as an instructor at National Training Service (SENA). He is a petroleum engineer with interdisciplinary studies: a MSc in International Cooperation from the Polytechnic University of Valencia (UPV), Spain, and a MSc in Sustainability and Renewables from the Centre for Energy, Petroleum and Mineral Law & Policy (CEPMLP) at the University of Dundee.