It might seem odd to hear Greta Thunberg, champion of climate action, protest against a wind farm, but that is what recently happened in Oslo. Thunberg is just the latest to protest against “green colonialism” — environmentally friendly projects that usurp the rights of Indigenous, traditional, afro-descendants, and other local peoples.
There is not yet sufficient attention to assure that communities surrounding renewable energy projects, as well as societies as a whole, see benefits from those investments, including access to the electricity generated. Achieving net zero should not come at the expense of the rights and well-being of poorer, rural communities.
Governance challenges threatening to undermine sustainable energy shifts include contestation of land rights, arguments over benefit sharing, and disputes over community consent. We need greater accountability for green energy, and the good news is that there are practical steps that can be taken immediately. We also need a bigger rethink on how we can better address all dimensions of justice during this transition.
About the authors
Michael Jarvis
Michael Jarvis is an expert in good governance and multistakeholder approaches. He leads the Transparency and Accountability Initiative — a donor collaborative driving impactful funding for these issues. Having worked for two decades on natural resource governance, Michael was the World Bank’s global lead for extractives governance and a founder of the Open Contracting Partnership.
Justin Sylvester
Justin Sylvester is a senior program officer at the Ford Foundation, based in Southern Africa. As part of the global natural resources and climate change team, his work addresses governance and rights challenges faced by countries in the global south, especially those hosting large-scale extractive industries and transitioning their energy systems.
