a just transition to indigenous sovereignty

James Sherrif, on why sustainability without justice is unsustainable.

Climate justice is Indigenous justice.

This is an idea which is fundamental to the philosophy of the Enviro Collective, however the actual links between these two concepts are not always well-understood or widely recognised. Amidst the growing push for a ‘just transition’, the concept of justice itself should be clear and tangible, not simply a rhetorical commitment. Understood fully, the idea of a just transition represents not simply a necessity but an opportunity.

‘Environmental racism’ is a concept first articulated by marginalised African-American communities in the US, who fought the unequal distribution of industrial pollution in the 1970s and 80s. The movement challenged the racialised nature of environmental degradation; while affluent, white communities had access to clean, well-maintained natural amenities, poorer, black and brown communities were surrounded by under-regulated and destructive industrial sites, waste facilities, and toxic pollutants.

In post-colonial contexts, the concept of environmental racism has come to incorporate calls for sovereignty and decolonisation as well as redistribution, with movements utilising this understanding of racialised environmental injustice to strengthen their demands for systemic change. It is here that campaigns for Indigenous sovereignty become inherently intertwined with the just transition process.

projects. It is this which is so often overlooked (or intentionally obscured) by mainstream discussion on renewable energy and climate change. Within the dire and urgently escalating crisis there is an opportunity for change. It is a chance to seize the current, broken order of things and rearrange it to actually work for the common good.

The experience of Maori communities in New Zealand, in particular, shows the strength of such an approach. Compared to the rest of the world, New Zealand has a particularly well developed renewable energy industry, which provides 85% of the country’s electricity from (largely) hydroelectrical and geothermal sources. In the vast majority of these developments, Maori communities are actively involved, in some cases through the training and employment of local Maori workers, and in more active leadership roles where projects exist directly on native lands (as is the case with most geothermal sites). This creates a system of “mutual development,” allowing Maori communities to manage the process of transition with dignity, while also providing expertise and guidance in the development of native lands with new technologies.

This moves beyond the basic conception of justice as redistribution, and demonstrates the strength of a deeper, societal understanding of sustainability. It is possible due to the existence and respect of the Treaty of Waitangi — the founding document of New Zealand. The Treaty broadly guarantees the “full authority” of Maori communities over traditional natural “treasures” (both tangible and intangible), and is the basis for

this more cooperative, sustainable model of land and resource management.

A similar idea has emerged in Australia through the First Nations Renewable Energy Alliance, formed as a way to deal with soaring energy costs and unlivable conditions in parts of regional Australia through the community ownership of energy projects. Partnerships between certain local councils have also been formed in some areas to provide renewable energy to communities. While these are admirable projects, they are isolated and restricted by the inequalities built into the current system. To work, genuine respect for Indigenous sovereignty — and the systemic change needed to allow this — is essential, as well as significant state investment and intervention in this industry.

A just transition then, is one which champions Indigenous sovereignty. From this starting point, questions of public ownership and ideas about a jobs guarantee and decentralised community ownership of renewable energy projects can flow. The inequalities of the past and present must not be built into the system for generations to come. A just transition is an opportunity to restructure society to benefit all — to use Indigenous knowledge to shape our understanding of sustainability, and learn from the mistakes of the past. To ensure that the energy and resources that are drawn from these lands are held by its traditional custodians, and shared sustainably amongst us all.

Climate justice is Indigenous justice.