Above photo: Shompen Anthropological Survey of India.
It has become abundantly clear that the clean energy transition is “business as usual” for Indigenous Peoples.
At least a dozen major cases have emerged where Indigenous rights are being overtly dismissed in order to secure supplies of lithium, nickel, copper, cobalt and other strategic minerals. The unprecedented demand is reshaping landscapes and economies across the globe. New mines, processing facilities, transmission corridors and renewable energy projects are being fast-tracked, often with promises of sustainable development and a greener, more ‘just’ future.
For Indigenous Peoples, however, the transition looks less like a departure from the fossil fuel era than a continuation of it.
The following cases illustrate the troubling global pattern. While each situation is unique, together they raise a fundamental question: can a transition be considered just if it is built on the violation of Indigenous rights?
1. Sweden’s Green Mining Push Threatens Sámi Reindeer Herding
In northern Sweden, Sámi communities warn that a proposed mining project promoted as part of Europe’s green transition could sever ancient reindeer migration routes and undermine one of the foundations of Sámi culture.
The project, located in traditional Sámi territory, would cut through critical grazing and migration corridors used by reindeer herders for generations. Community leaders argue that the mine was approved without adequately respecting Indigenous rights and free, prior and informed consent, while environmental groups warn of impacts on biodiversity and nearby protected landscapes.
2. Lithium Extraction Threatens Indigenous Communities in Chile’s Atacama Desert
The salt flats of northern Chile contain some of the world’s largest lithium reserves, making them central to the global electric vehicle industry.
For Indigenous Atacameño communities, however, lithium extraction has raised serious concerns about water depletion in one of the driest places on Earth. Massive evaporation ponds used to concentrate lithium brines consume enormous volumes of groundwater, prompting fears about impacts on fragile desert ecosystems, traditional livelihoods and cultural practices tied to scarce water resources.
3. Argentina’s Lithium Triangle Faces Growing Indigenous Resistance
Across the border in Argentina, Indigenous Kolla and Atacama communities have increasingly challenged lithium projects advancing through the country’s portion of the so-called “Lithium Triangle.”
Community leaders have repeatedly argued that governments are authorizing projects without obtaining the free, prior and informed consent required under international Indigenous rights standards. Protests, legal challenges and international advocacy campaigns have become increasingly common as dozens of new projects move through exploration and development stages.
4. The Great Nicobar Megaproject Puts Uncontacted Peoples at Risk
India’s proposed development of Great Nicobar Island includes a major transshipment port, airport, power infrastructure and associated projects intended to position the country within emerging global supply chains.
Critics warn that the initiative threatens some of the world’s last remaining Indigenous peoples living in voluntary isolation, the Shompen.
Environmental assessments have also raised concerns about extensive forest loss and impacts on biodiversity-rich ecosystems. Nearly one million trees could be cut down as part of the development.
Government statements have gone so far as to describe the project as an example of “holistic development.”
5. Nickel Mining Is Poisoning Indigenous Bajau Communities in Indonesia
Indonesia has become the world’s dominant nickel producer, supplying a metal widely used in electric vehicle batteries.
Investigations by environmental organizations have documented severe pollution associated with nickel mining and processing operations in several regions.
On Kabaena Island, Indigenous Bajau communities report declining fish stocks, contaminated waters and worsening health conditions linked to industrial expansion. Residents say traditional marine livelihoods are increasingly threatened as mining infrastructure expands across the region.
6. The Philippines’ Nickel Rush Expands Into Indigenous Land
The Philippines possesses some of the world’s largest nickel reserves and has become a key supplier to battery manufacturers.
Indigenous communities in several provinces have raised concerns over mining concessions approved within ancestral domains. Community organizations have reported deforestation, sedimentation of rivers and alleged failures to secure genuine community consent. Human rights groups have also documented intimidation and violence directed at land defenders opposing extractive projects.
7. Greenland’s Rare Earth Rush Raises Questions About Indigenous Self-Determination
As melting Arctic ice opens new opportunities for mineral extraction, Greenland has emerged as a focal point for rare earth mining proposals.
Many Greenlanders support economic development and greater political autonomy, yet mining projects have also sparked intense debates regarding environmental protection, cultural preservation and Indigenous self-determination. Questions about who benefits from extraction—and who bears its risks—remain central to public discussions.
8. The Democratic Republic of Congo’s Cobalt Boom
The Democratic Republic of Congo supplies much of the world’s cobalt, another critical battery mineral.
Indigenous communities and local residents living near mining regions have documented displacement, environmental degradation and dangerous conditions associated with industrial and artisanal mining operations in the region. While cobalt powers technologies marketed as sustainable, many communities near extraction sites continue to experience profound social and environmental harms.
9. Canada’s Ring of Fire and the Critical Minerals Push
Canadian federal and provincial governments have identified northern Ontario’s Ring of Fire region as a cornerstone of national critical mineral strategies.
Several First Nations support development opportunities, while others have expressed serious concerns regarding environmental impacts, inadequate consultation and the potential disruption of culturally significant landscapes and peatland ecosystems.
Indigenous leaders continue to insist that development cannot proceed without Indigenous consent and leadership.
10. The United States Expands Lithium Mining on Indigenous Lands
In Nevada, the proposed Thacker Pass lithium mine has become one of North America’s most significant Indigenous rights disputes linked to the energy transition.
Tribal nations and Indigenous activists argue that the project threatens sacred sites and cultural landscapes connected to historic massacres of Indigenous peoples.
Although construction has advanced, legal challenges and protests continue, making the project a flashpoint in debates over whether climate action can coexist with Indigenous sovereignty.
11. Australia’s Rare Earth and Critical Minerals Expansion
Australia’s growing role in supplying rare earth elements and battery minerals has intensified pressure on Aboriginal lands.
Traditional Owners have raised concerns about the cumulative impacts of mining projects on sacred sites, water resources and cultural heritage. Several disputes have highlighted persistent gaps between consultation processes and Indigenous expectations regarding consent and decision-making authority.
12. Ecuador’s Copper Frontier Expands Into Indigenous Forests
In Ecuador, Indigenous nations have repeatedly mobilized against copper mining concessions authorized within biodiverse cloud forests and Amazonian territories.
Communities argue that projects threaten water sources, forests and cultural survival. Courts have increasingly recognized Indigenous consultation rights, but conflicts over mining expansion continue as governments seek revenues from mineral exports.
13. Brazil’s Critical Minerals Rush Raises Alarm Across Indigenous Territories
Brazil is positioning itself as a global supplier of lithium, rare earth elements, copper and other minerals essential to the energy transition, but Indigenous organizations warn that the boom is placing unprecedented pressure on their lands.
A recent investigation by Repórter Brasil found that more than 2,000 mining applications for critical minerals overlap with or lie within 10 kilometers of 278 Indigenous territories—nearly half of all Indigenous lands in the country.
The Green Transition Is Repeating the Extractive Logic of the Fossil Fuel Era
Taken individually, each of these conflicts might be dismissed as an isolated dispute or the unfortunate consequence of balancing climate action against competing interests. Taken together, however, they reveal a far more significant pattern.
Projects are being approved without meaningful consent. Sacred sites are being disturbed. Traditional livelihoods are being disrupted. Environmental concerns are being minimized or ignored. And when Indigenous communities resist, they are frequently portrayed as obstacles to progress rather than rights holders defending territories they have stewarded for generations.
There’s no longer a question. The clean energy transition is repeating the same extractive dynamics that defined the fossil fuel era.
A truly just transition would recognize free, prior and informed consent as a non-negotiable requirement rather than a procedural box to check. It would prioritize Indigenous governance, stewardship and decision-making authority. And it would acknowledge that there can be no genuinely sustainable future built on the continued dispossession of the peoples who protect much of the world’s remaining biodiversity.
