Permission and costs are important questions when extracting minerals from the ‘energy transition’

The many environmental, social and health impacts of mineral extraction that power renewable energy, mobile phones and electric vehicles need more debate and detailed media coverage, says an Indigenous rights activist and journalist on the podcast.
Mongabay speaks with Galina Angarova, Indigenous director of the SIRGE Coalition, and environmental journalist Ian Morse about critical questions about the demand for certain minerals and who benefits from their extraction.
Research shows that as much as 54% of all transition minerals are on or near indigenous land, but no country has properly implemented Free Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) protocols, a framework critical to ensuring to ensure that local communities are aware of: benefiting from – and especially not being harmed by – such activities.
The risk of disruptions to the global supply chain due to the concentration of minerals in relatively few countries, or the potential formation of cartels limiting their supply, further complicates the situation, the two podcast guests say.

Minerals and metals used in technologies that enable much of the global energy transition and their applications are relatively new and require thought and reporting that explores questions related to their need, the growing social, human and environmental impacts that mining for these minerals, and the geopolitical tensions. they can get worse.

To learn more, Mongabay speaks with indigenous rights advocate and SIRGE Coalition Executive Director Galina Angarova and environmental journalist Ian Morse, author of the Substack newsletter Green Rocks. Together, in this episode of the Mongabay Newscast, they describe critical questions that journalists, policymakers and citizens should ask themselves regarding transition minerals.

Listen:

Research published in the journal Nature indicates that as many as 54% of all transition minerals occur on or near land occupied by indigenous communities. According to a recent United Nations report, resource extraction could increase by 60% by 2060, which would further impact people and the environment.

Yet Free Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC), an internationally recognized right enshrined in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), is not being adequately applied or enforced in any country, says Ian Morse. “This consent protocol…it’s not actually implemented anywhere.”

“The ultimate goal for us as indigenous activists working in space (is) to prevent repetitive patterns of oil and gas extraction and traditional mining in this energy transition,” Angarova said. “We are on the cusp of this new industrial revolution, and with it we have the opportunity to bring Indigenous peoples to the table to ask for their free, prior and informed consent.”

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Banner image: Image by Pedro J Pacheco via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0 DEED).

Mike DiGirolamo is a host and associate producer for Mongabay, based in Sydney. He is co-host and editor of the Mongabay Newscast. Find him LinkedIn, Blue sky And Instagram.

Related podcast:

Podcast: Who benefits from resource extraction in the DRC?

Related reading:

New FPIC guide designed to help protect indigenous peoples’ rights as mining booms

Climate change adaptation, alternative energy, clean energy, climate change, energy, featured, green energy, indigenous communities, indigenous peoples, indigenous rights, just transition, mining, podcast, renewable energy

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