The not so green side of green energy
Sacrificing Indigenous rights and ecological stability for the Global North's clean technologies
Disclaimer: I am not against lithium, or any other kind of energy transition mineral mining. I’m only arguing that we can’t simply replace fossil fuel mining with ‘green’ mining, thinking it will solve our climate problems…
The world finds itself at the start of a ‘green’ industrial revolution. Countries all around the world are setting climate goals to transition to low-carbon economies, decoupling their economic growth from carbon emissions to achieve ‘green’ growth. Renewable energy (RE) technologies are of vital importance for this transition. What many don’t realise, however, is that RE is actually a double-edged sword, or a wicked problem so to say. While it is crucial for reducing our carbon footprint, mining minerals to power the energy transition (green extractivism) is causing various socio-ecological issues around mining sites. In this post, I will use green extractivism in Western Australia as an example to discuss the impact of lithium mining on the environment and indigenous communities.
Otherwise known as the ‘white’ gold of the future energy market, lithium is used for the rechargeable batteries of electric devices like laptops, phones, cameras and electric vehicles (EVs). Being an essential mineral for the energy transition, demand for lithium has increased by 300% between 2010-2020. EVs play a big role in this as they are a key aspect of global energy transition plans, with some countries in Europe banning the sale of fossil fuel cars by as early as 2025. What these ambitions fail to reflect, is that EVs are extremely resource intensive, requiring six times as many mineral components as traditional cars. In fact, if we are to meet the global climate goals, we will need to increase lithium production by 42 times by 2040. And while a further expansion of ‘white gold’ mining would allow the Global North to obtain ‘clean’ technologies to support their resource-intensive lifestyles, lithium mining is causing various problems at a local scale.
Western Australia’s lithium mining
Australia’s economy has been heavily reliant on extractivism ever since the British colonisation that resulted in the expropriation of Indigenous lands, changing the human-nature relationship from nutritive to exploitative. In addition to being one of the world’s largest coal producers, Australia has recently supplemented its fossil fuel mining with ‘green’ mining for the energy transition. Holding the second-largest lithium reserve in the world, the nation is currently responsible for 54.4% of global production. Most of this lithium mining takes place in Western Australia (WA), a state already subject to and degraded by intensive traditional mining operations.
Despite being the nation’s largest state, covering 1/3 of its landmass, WA only holds 10% of the total population. In combination with large parts of the state being a desert, this has led to claims that mining in WA doesn’t affect many people, while it does contribute a lot to the economy and the global green transition - justifying the extractivism. This reasoning is extremely flawed. Mining sites are often located close to communities, and even when they are further away from humans, they still greatly impact the overall ecosystem.
It is not the only flawed argument that is made to justify green extractivism. Mining companies in Australia (and I wouldn’t be surprised if this holds for most mining companies outside of Australia too) are major greenwashers. It’s funny how those companies (that still mine for fossil fuels btw) are suddenly talking about climate change now that it suits them, publicly priding themselves on their ESG operations and their contribution to climate mitigation by producing lithium. And when the environmental concerns of lithium mining are brought up, they dismiss them by saying that their hard-rock lithium mining is so much more environmentally friendly than the mining done in other places. They couldn’t be more incorrect.
Hard-rock lithium mining literally uses fracking, which entails drilling hundreds of meters into the ground and using explosives to obtain the minerals. It is an extremely (fossil fuel) energy-intensive, polluting process that involves the widespread use of toxic chemicals like sulphuric acid, leading to remnants of hazardous waste remaining in the ground to spoil the soil for generations to come. To make matters worse, there isn’t even proper infrastructure to deal with the huge amounts of waste that the companies are able to remove.
And that’s not all. Being extremely water-intensive, hard-rock lithium mining also contributes to the exhaustion of local water sources, which oftentimes have already been depleted by nearby traditional mining practices. Every minute, gallons of water are used and polluted - leaking into the ground and risking contamination of the groundwater, which could ruin the soil for up to 300 years after the mining is ceased. Together, these effects lead to local water shortages and crop failure, land subsidence (basically the sinking of land), and cracked infrastructure like roads and rail bridges. If the destruction wasn’t so devasting, I’d almost laugh at those mining companies calling themselves ‘green’ miners
Sadly, it’s not just environmental issues that are deeply concerning. In WA, lithium mining is simply a continuation and reinforcement of decades of lack of respect for Indigenous rights by the government. A prime example of this is the WA Aboriginal Heritage Bill. Written in 1972 and strongly favouring mining, it was used in 2013 to approve the destruction of the sacred Aboriginal site Juukan Gorge by the mining company Rio Tinto. A year after the ministerial consent, archaeologists discovered artifacts that indicated that the cave was twice as old as originally thought. In fact, the 46.000 years-old cave was the only place in Australia to show human occupancy during the last ice age. Despite the discovery of the immense cultural and historical value of this sacred site, the bill didn’t allow renegotiations of project approvals, ultimately leading to the destruction of Juukan Gorge in 2020.
In 2021, the WA government reformed the bill to “better protect” Aboriginal cultural heritage, but the bill clearly still prioritises mining over Aboriginal interests. Despite mentioning that Aboriginals should give “free, prior and informed consent” to mining proposals, the bill gives the Minister of Aboriginal Affairs the ultimate authority to decide whether mining projects could damage heritage sites. While decisions against projects can be appealed by the “non-aboriginal proponents”, Aboriginals cannot appeal consent. The bill grossly misuses the concept of “free, prior and informed consent”, as Aboriginals clearly do not have the right to say no to mining on their lands. Based on increased financial support, the trend in fast-tracked approvals of lithium mining projects, and the historical track record of government consent on mining proposals, this bill essentially ensures that the destruction of Aboriginal heritage by mining companies will continue to happen.
Green colonialism
All around the world, green extractivism is leading to the oppression of communities living near RE mineral reserves. These areas are called Green Sacrifice Zones, as the ecosystems and humans living in the area are quite literally sacrificed for the green energy transition. As a result, some scholars are branding green extractivism as a form of green colonialism. Expanding the domination of the powerful over the less powerful, undermining (indigenous) sovereignties and exploiting lands for, suddenly, essential resources like lithium – all to ensure that the Global North can maintain its economic growth and energy-intensive lifestyles. Transitioning to their future vision of a sustainable society, where almost nothing changes except for the source of energy.
Thus, while mining companies and governments justify the lithium expansion as climate change mitigation, calling it ‘green’ mining, they are in fact following the same principles as the previous capitalist fossil fuel extractivism: over-depletion, land dispossession, and injustice. To the extractors, it's a game of profit, not sustainability. And the thing is, as long as there is demand, there is profit. And as long as the Global North continues its overconsumption of resources and energy, there will be demand.
What now?
I’m not saying that we need to stop mining. I am just saying that we can’t mine our way to climate justice. A just and sustainable energy transition requires us to do more than just change the colour of mining, it requires us to halt extractivism from the demand side. We are living in a society where the notion of the ‘good life’ is shaped by the products and services we buy. Where most households have two cars on their driveway and where people buy the latest technologies while their old ones are still perfectly fine. As long as we in the Global North continue our overconsumption of resources and energy, those living in the green sacrifice zones will bear the consequences. We say we are trying to do better, and make up for the centuries of domination of the Global North over the Global South. However, we’ve just ended up in the familiar position, where the same people benefit while the same people suffer.
So, if you take anything away from this post, let it be that RE is not a silver bullet. While solving the carbon problem, it also creates environmental and social justice issues. I know that the way our economies and society are designed right now limits individuals' potential to change things, but just take a moment to think about what lifestyle changes you can make – where you can reduce your demand for resources and energy. For instance, yes, EVs are better for the environment than fossil fuel cars, but maybe reconsider if you really need to have a car, or if you need to use it as much as you do.
Hi!
You’ve made it through to the end of the post, chapeau!! Hopefully, it wasn’t too academic. I just handed in a uni assignment on this topic and tried to rewrite that text but it’s still a bit static I feel ahah. Anyways, as the tip of the week, I want to stay on topic and recommend two things to watch:
The first video is a TED talk (18 min) about the geopolitics of the green energy transition. Super interesting! Although, I do think that her solution regarding innovation is a bit radical. Moreover, I believe her idea of a global public goods regime is definitely unfeasible. Think about it, people from other countries just coming in and taking resources off your land. It doesn’t matter how nationalistic people are, they are not going to accept this.
The second video is a seminar (1,5 hrs) that talks about green extractivism in Australia. It is basically an elaborated and much much more detailed and sophisticated recount of everything I just wrote about. It’s long, but definitely worth it if this topic interests you!! (besides, Aussie accents are always a plus)
Bye bye!