Charting a Just Transition for Indigenous Peoples

Written on 13 December 2024. Posted in News

“We are Earth. Earth is us.”

Indigenous Peoples have endured centuries of violence, exploitation, and displacement - facing murder, enslavement and forced relocation, while their lands have been militarized and criminalized. Despite this, their rights are repeatedly sidelined in the global push to tackle the climate crisis. International summits and national plans for a sustainable future promise progress but often exclude those most affected by these decisions: Indigenous Peoples. Even when it concerns the lands they have protected for generations, their perspectives are ignored or marginalized. Yet they remain resilient; continuing to safeguard their territories and traditions. With their holistic worldview and deep-rooted understanding of nature and sustainability, Indigenous Peoples hold invaluable insights for a green transition, offering solutions that are not only ecologically sound but also culturally and socially just.

From 8 - 10 October, 2024, 95 Indigenous Peoples’ representatives from all seven socio-cultural regions converged in Geneva for the Indigenous Peoples’ Perspectives, Knowledge, and Lived Experiences Summit on Just Transition. The gathering, organized by the Indigenous Peoples' Global Coordinating Committee (IPGCC) in a partnership with the Securing Indigenous Peoples’ Rights in the Green Economy (SIRGE) Coalition, aimed to address the pressing issue of justice in the global green transition, including Indigenous People’s right to self-determination and to Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC), among others.

“The world is facing an unprecedented climate crisis, and as nations race toward solutions, the concept of a ‘green economy’ has taken center stage. While it speaks of sustainability and innovation, it also risks repeating the mistakes of the past: exploitation, inequality, and the silencing of those who have protected our lands for centuries,” Rodion Sulyandziga, Chair of the Indigenous Peoples Global Coordinating Committee, noted.

This sentiment resonates deeply as we stand at a pivotal moment in history.

"It's frustrating to witness the persistent belief that progress can be achieved without fully respecting human rights,” Kathrin Wessendorf, IWGIA Executive Director, noted as she also reflected on the UN climate COP 29 that recently ended in Azerbaijan.

What does a Just Transition mean from an Indigenous perspective?

For Indigenous Peoples, a “just transition” embodies the need for a fundamental transformation of the systems that currently prioritize extraction and exploitation. Summit attendees articulated a vision of a just transition as one that restores Indigenous governance, respects their cultural practices, and acknowledges their inherent rights to self-determination, land and resources.

An Indigenous vision of a just transition is rooted in principles of decolonization, reparation, and respect for Indigenous ways of life. It stands as a rejection of neoliberal policies that reinforce the inequalities of the capitalist system.

The Summit: Purpose and outcomes

The summit served as a platform for Indigenous leaders to share their knowledge, lived experiences, and concerns regarding the imposition of so-called “green” energy projects on their lands. Summit participants highlighted that as the demand for renewable energy minerals – such as nickel, lithium and cobalt – rises to support a low-carbon economy and fuel technologies like electric vehicles, the increased mining for these desirable minerals and rare earth metals threatens Indigenous rights and territories. Mining for these and other materials often results in land grabs, human rights violations such as exploitation and displacement, and the contamination of lands, air, ice and waters, thus making living and the gathering of food impossible.

All of these violations echo the same violations Indigenous Peoples have suffered due to colonialism and governmental powers ignoring the rights of Indigenous Peoples.

We cannot risk the green economy becoming yet another chapter in the damaging story of colonialization.

However, Indigenous Peoples are not opposing the green transition or green economies; rather, they are here to ensure that it doesn’t end up being a repeat of history and that their place at the decision table is respected.  

Therefore, the goal of the Summit was unmistakable: to establish a unified vision that captures how Indigenous Peoples envision and will contribute to a just green economy transition.

“We are not here to be passive participants. We are here to lead. Our role is foundational. This Summit is where we will draw the line. We will define what a just transition means for us, and for the world,” Sulyandziga emphasized.

Summit outcomes

The outcomes of the Summit included the development of Indigenous Peoples’ Principles and Protocols for a Just Transition, which outline a vision for a transition that respects Indigenous governance and worldviews. This new framework aims to ensure that any development projects occurring on Indigenous lands are approached with FPIC and consideration for the community's needs and rights.

The Summit concluded with the establishment of a groundbreaking protocol that will act as a vital guide for all future initiatives. Focused on Indigenous rights, the protocol outlines these guiding principles for a just transition:

1. Right to Life, including the physical and spiritual integrity of Indigenous Peoples, guaranteeing their present and future existence.

2. Right to Self-determination and Sovereignty of Indigenous Peoples, including the UNDRIP and others, as a minimum standard.

3. Decolonization, including the rejection of the Doctrine of Discovery and the continued imposition of colonial and extractive resource exploitation, false solutions, military occupation, and activities that threaten our mental, spiritual, reproductive, intergenerational, and physical health, biodiversity, natural ecosystems, cultures, values, and plant and animal relatives.

4. Reparations, Land Back, and Full Restoration of Lands, Territories, Waters, and Biodiversity

5. Respect for Indigenous Peoples’ Ways of Life, including food sovereignty, Indigenous economies, science, technologies, innovations, lived experiences, jurisdiction, languages, cultures, spirituality, responsibilities to the natural world, biodiversity, knowledge systems, and all forms of life.

6. Transparency and Accountability, including and reflecting the input and effective participation of Indigenous Peoples, including youth, women, elders, knowledge-holders, persons with disabilities, and active practitioners of Indigenous Peoples’ ways of life, addressing the multiple and intersectional levels of impacts.

7. Historical (economic and non-economic) reparations for the damages caused, following the standards established by human rights courts and bodies, and as determined by the pre-existing Indigenous nations and peoples when demanding such reparations.

8. Full Protection of Indigenous Peoples, meaning the ending of criminalization of Indigenous Peoples’ human rights and environmental defenders, and cultural practitioners, including but not limited to extrajudicial killings, torture, imprisonments, surveillance, and other threats of harassment, intimidation, and reprisals with impunity, including the policing and militarization of Indigenous Peoples’ territories.

9. Recognition of Indigenous Peoples’ Roles and Responsibilities as caretakers, stewards, and guardians of our traditional lands, rangelands, forests, deserts, savannas, waters, air, ice, territories, and resources, our Indigenous laws and protocols, and the spiritual, cultural, historic and ongoing relationships we have with the plants, animals, elements, lands, ice, and waters which give us life and identity.

10. Contribution to the actual reduction, aversion, or prevention of climate change based on a path to maintain no more than a 1.5-degree temperature increase and include direct access to financing for Indigenous Peoples’ own projects for climate change aversion and mitigation, adaptation, resilience, and direct access payments for loss and damage.

11. Rights-based Approach to Supply Chains, meaning that just transition projects and activities throughout supply chains must not cause harm to Indigenous Peoples, other peoples, ecosystems, or sacred sites. This includes assessing the impacts of the totality of supply chains (from raw materials to end-use projects to waste).

Thus, a truly Just Transition requires that governments and green economy companies respect Indigenous rights, including their fundamental right to be fully informed and consulted about any plans for their lands and to retain authority over what happens to, on, and within their territories.

In their words: “Nothing about us, without us.”

Click here to read more about the outcomes of the summit.

The Path forward

The SIRGE Coalition and its supporters call for a just transition that acknowledges and rectifies historical injustices. They advocate for Indigenous-led solutions that enhance biodiversity, combat climate change, and restore ecological balance. The Coalition’s efforts are vital not only for protecting Indigenous rights but also for promoting a sustainable future for all of humanity.

The Summit highlighted a crucial message: progress must never come at the expense of those who have long protected the planet. Achieving a just transition depends on prioritizing the voices of Indigenous Peoples.

As Kathrin Wessendorf emphasizes, the SIRGE Summit was a testament to mutual respect – honoring each unique context while understanding others' perspectives. It went beyond consensus, achieving something truly remarkable: a collective agreement and a shared vision for change.

“A broad agreement affirms that respecting Indigenous Peoples' right to self-determination is where justice begins. Without honoring and implementing that right, a transition cannot truly be just. It lays the foundation for processes like free, prior, and informed consent, and meaningful consultations - but it all starts with self-determination,” Wessendorf said.

Thus, the foundation of a sustainable future must be built on justice, respect, and the protection of Indigenous lands and their rights. Pretending to save the planet while disregarding its most steadfast stewards is not true progress – it is simply exploitation masquerading as innovation.

Continuing down this road risks fostering eco-colonialism: a new wave of resource extraction disguised as environmentalism.

This is why, to truly confront the climate crisis, we must embrace a green economy that centers on the rights, knowledge, and leadership of Indigenous Peoples.

Anything short of this is not a solution, it is a repetition of historical wrongs.

To put it in Rodion Sulyandziga’s words: ”A just transition starts where Indigenous rights begin.“

Tags: Climate, Human rights, Indigenous Peoples Rights