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Green grabbing:
Exploring Indigenous inequality in the face of just energy transition in Afghanistan & India SIA DAS & RIA DAS |
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Academic Article
The Graduate Inequality Review, Volume IV (September 2025) |
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Abstract: Climate change is a global emergency, but its effects are unequally distributed. The Indigenous and marginalised communities are among the first and worst hit by the crisis than any other groups due to their close relationship with the environment and reliance on the natural resources. The pledge to achieve ‘Net-Zero’ goal has sadly widened the inequality chasm and worsened the on-going climate injustices faced by the Indigenous Communities. The transition to a green economy will require extraction of unprecedented quantities of base minerals and rare earth metals- which occur on or near Indigenous land which possesses half of the world’s major portion of natural reserves. This current uneven green transition to renewable resources and conservation projects have dispossessed Indigenous Communities of their own land in the name of energy transition to produce biofuels and installation of huge solar panels and wind turbines on their land without their prior consent. This paper will provide evidence on how green energy transition are leading to land grabbing and leading to Indigenous displacement and land dispossession. This paper will further cite case studies of India and Afghanistan to demonstrate unjust energy transition. This paper finally argues the necessity to include Indigenous Communities in global policymaking and build stronger connections with these communities to achieve a just, equitable and meaningful inclusion of Indigenous and local communities in green energy transition. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development pledged that “no one will be left behind” but perhaps those who are leading are left far behind in this race for green energy transition. Surmounting this challenge will require focusing on Indigenous and local communities and harnessing their potential as agents of change and development. |
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