Media interest in scrutinizing green transition projects is gaining momentum [see e.g. Green transition, dirty business: Europe’s struggle to tear loose from Chinese minerals | Investigate Europe]. Recently the renowned journal The Economist turned its gaze on Sápmi and published a piece [link here] engaging with the green dilemma, or the unwanted and unintended costs and consequences often intertwined with green and energy transition projects. They ask whether Sámi culture, lands, livelihoods and futures are worth sacrificing in the name of Europe’s “green” transition? It is a refreshing take on the topic of mining for critical raw materials in Kiruna, which is more often portrayed as a golden goose, e.g. by government and industry representatives [e.g. Europe’s Largest Deposit of Rare Earth Metals Found in Northern Sweden to when the finding of CRMs was communicated as a salvage in the press by minister Ebba Busch], or even when affected municipalities themselves object to such projects [link].
The piece in the Economist builds on interviews with reindeer herders and Sámi actors, as well as a background interview with SápmiDem scholars RKL and AL. In the Economist daily podcast [link here] more detail and depth are provided, including recognition of the weak protection of Sámi rights under current legislation and permit processes in the Nordics. Industry projects take place in a context of historical and ongoing loss, fragmentation and colonisation. This fuller picture provides the backdrop against which current and expected impact must be recognised and assessed. These are some of the issues we will delve into as part of SápmiDem and our work in WP2.
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