| By Ava Wong |

Indigenous Voices Key to Clean Energy Transition

While the climate crisis certainly demands urgent responses, the accelerating energy transition has placed disproportionate burdens upon indigenous populations in the mining of critical minerals necessary for many clean energy technologies. Given that 54% of energy transition minerals are located on or near indigenous peoples’ land, historic inadequacies in transparency, respect, and benefit-sharing are increasingly crucial to examine. While indigenous groups exhibit a diversity of opinions toward mining, in all cases, they hope to be included in decision-making. Therefore, the energy transition requires a close examination of diversity, equity, and inclusion of indigenous voices in mineral extraction with an emphasis on genuine implementation of the right to Free, Prior, and Informed Consent. The centrality of DEI in the energy transition not only ensures the adherence to environmental justice and human rights principles but also the effective supply growth of clean energy infrastructure. 

Historical Dynamics

For decades, hardrock mining and mineral extraction in native territories have represented indigenous exclusion, cultural abuse, and environmental degradation. This sentiment is reflected by Darinda Hinkey, Fort McDermitt Paiute and Shoshone Tribe citizen who says, “Lithium mines…is what I like to call green colonialism. It’s going to directly affect my people, my culture, my religion, my tradition.” While lithium demand is projected to increase by 450% by 2050, indigenous communities situated upon lithium reserves worry that extractive practices will reflect a vast history of exploitation and exclusion. In the United States, for example, token attempts at engagement have been ineffective. In 2005, for example, Congress authorized federal agencies to allocate contract preferences to tribal-owned suppliers, yet as of 2019, none have done so.

Aside from the increased demand for critical minerals, a new conceptualization of a just transition, defined as “greening the economy in a way that is as fair and inclusive as possible to everyone concerned” presents a new framework. A just transition demands the avoidance of past unjust treatment toward indigenous populations, and instead, requires inclusion and diversity in decision-making and consultation. 

Lessons Learned: The Salar de Atacama

The Salar de Atacama provides a striking example of tensions between lithium demand and indigenous interests, emphasizing the need for indigenous participation in extraction enterprises. Situated in Chile, the Salar de Atacama’s expansive, lithium-rich salt flats are home to roughly 18 indigenous communities. Though communities share a virtually unanimous concern about water scarcity, individuals vary in their attitudes toward lithium companies. Therefore, it remains essential not to condense indigenous attitudes toward mining into oversimplified paradigms. 

Indigenous communities located near extraction sites bear heavy burdens of water scarcity and biodiversity loss. While experts are unsure about the exact environmental impacts of the water-intensive brine mining processes used to extract lithium, it undoubtedly burdens the communities’ already scarce water resources. Therefore, community members often perceive an unjust disparity between those suffering ecological costs and those making the decisions–namely in Santiago and the global North. 

On the other hand, some indigenous citizens are hopeful for mineral extraction’s potential economic development opportunities. For example, Jorge, a mine worker and indigenous resident, explains that “If they can dry out the Salar de Atacama, they will. So, since we will pay the cost of the drying Salar we have to squeeze out [of the mining company] what we can, in that same cold logic”.

The Need for Inclusive Discourse

The diverse opinions within the Atacameño population present the need for inclusive mechanisms ensuring all voices are heard on a local level. Furthermore, enterprises seeking to extract critical minerals must take into account indigenous inputs. Lack of proper consultation that has historically harmed indigenous communities violates a cornerstone of international human rights standards: the right to Free, Prior and Informed Consent. However, this nonbinding principle is often unclear, according to the Aspen Institute. One strategy, however, is to make the principle binding for tribes adjacent to extraction sites to ensure adequate consultation.

Counter Arguments

Despite calls for indigenous inclusion and equity, some argue that the urgency of the climate crisis requires the bypassing of indigenous inclusion to streamline extractive processes. However, that failure to balance streamlining supply with indigenous considerations will not only result in injustice, but also induce legal challenges and the loss of social licenses to operate if indigenous groups bring these cases to court. Therefore, taking into account indigenous interests is not only a moral consideration, but essential in facilitating the energy transition. 

DEI: Smart, Practical, and Essential For Sustainable Solutions

The Salar de Atacama is just one example of increasing tensions between the demand for critical minerals and indigenous populations. As the climate crisis intensifies, legal challenges will be exacerbated if proper indigenous inclusion and implementation of FPIC principles are not fulfilled. Therefore, diversity, equity, and inclusion for indigenous communities remain essential from a moral standpoint, but also from an environmental standpoint as challenges to green technology manufacturing–like EVs–will inhibit the decarbonization of the global economy.