Risks of the green energy transition
We know humanity needs to transition off coal, oil, and natural gas, but the transition to green energy comes with it’s own risks. During the transition to clean energy, decision-makers need be careful not to infringe on the rights of indigenous peoples, indigenous land, and critical ecosystems.
Biomass, ethanol, and hydrogen, for example, are often touted as viable forms of renewable energy. Depending on how they’re implemented, they may end up doing more harm than good. Mining for the minerals needed to build renewable infrastructure also puts indigenous rights and the rights of nature at risk.
Read a round up of the headlines:
“Rapidly transitioning the global energy system to renewables is considered necessary to combat climate change. Current estimates suggest that at least 30 energy transition minerals and metals (ETMs) form the material base for the energy transition. The inventory of ETMs indicates a high level of intersectionality with territories less impacted by the historic forces of industrialization… Our analysis reveals that more than half of the ETM resource base is located on or near the lands of Indigenous and peasant peoples, two groups whose rights to consultation and free prior informed consent are embedded in United Nations declarations.”
Nature Sustainability, Energy transition minerals and their intersection with land-connected peoples
“Vast quantities of minerals are needed to accelerate the transition to a clean energy future. Minerals and metals are essential for wind turbines, solar panels, and batteries for electric vehicles. But Indigenous peoples have raised concerns about more mining on their lands and territories.
A new study led by authors John Owen and Deanna Kemp, published in Nature Sustainability on Dec. 1, supports First Nations peoples' concerns. We identified 5,097 mining projects involving about 30 minerals needed in the energy transition. Some 54% are located on or near Indigenous peoples' lands.”
Phys.org, 54% of projects extracting clean energy minerals overlap with Indigenous lands, research reveals
“Millions of dollars in green financing intended to help Indonesia reduce its carbon emissions have been invested in a project that is destroying rainforest in Papua…
The project has made it harder for Marind people, hunter-gatherers indigenous to the lowlands of Papua, to find food to eat.
With food in the shops expensive, many families are going hungry, eating meals consisting solely of rice. Children have died of malnutrition.”
Climate Change News, Green funds in Indonesia were spent clearing forests for biomass
“The research, which was funded in part by the National Wildlife Federation and U.S. Department of Energy, found that ethanol is likely at least 24% more carbon-intensive than gasoline due to emissions resulting from land use changes to grow corn, along with processing and combustion.”
Reuters, U.S. corn-based ethanol worse for the climate than gasoline, study finds
“Biomass has been promoted as a carbon-neutral energy source by industry, some countries and lawmakers on the basis that the emissions released by burning wood can be offset by the carbon dioxide taken up by trees grown to replace those burned.
Yet there remain serious doubts among many scientists about its carbon-neutral credentials, especially when wood pellets are made by cutting down whole trees, rather than using waste wood products. It can take as much as a century for trees to grow enough to offset the carbon released.
Burning wood for energy is also inefficient – biomass has been found to release more carbon dioxide per unit of energy than coal or gas, according to a 2018 study and an open letter to the EU signed by nearly 800 scientists.”
The Guardian, Biomass is promoted as a carbon neutral fuel. But is burning wood a step in the wrong direction?
“Oil and gas companies and governments worldwide are increasingly looking to hydrogen as their pathway to decarbonization. Over 350 new projects worth $500 billion have been recently announced, according to the Hydrogen Council. The International Energy Agency says demand could increase sixfold by 2050.
Before committing to this vast buildout, it is essential to understand how hydrogen can contribute to climate change — including hydrogen’s own significant warming potential, which remains widely overlooked…
Since the near- and mid-term warming impacts of hydrogen are so much higher than usually recognized, it makes sense for the impacts to be explicitly reflected and actively minimized in order to achieve the maximum climate benefits of replacing fossil fuels with hydrogen. After all, it is much easier to minimize hydrogen leakage when designing a system versus retrofitting one.”
Environmental Defense Fund, For hydrogen to be a climate solution, leaks must be tackled
More reading
Politico, The ‘Green Energy’ That Might Be Ruining the Planet
The Greens, Carbon offsetting - Greenwashing the climate disaster
Environmental Working Group, Biomass energy: The dangerous carbon shell game putting forests and climate at risk