Resistance to the Dirty Face of the Green Transition

In October 2023 Aid/Watch’s, Nat Lowrey joined Yes to Life No to Mining, along with Rainforest Rescue, visited the Indonesian island of Sulawesi as part of a solidarity visit to communities resisting the extraction of so-called ‘Transition Minerals’—the raw materials identified by governments and industry as ‘necessary’ for the transition to a low carbon future.

The following Emblematic Case from the solidarity trip highlights that the current model for the Green Transition is far from just, and, if ‘Green’ means sustainable and ecologically sound, nor is it this. 

Many of the communities visited face threats and criminalisation for standing up against the injustices they are facing. 

But stand up they do.

The communities of Sulawesi resist against the odds, against the threat of violence or loss of liberty, against one of the largest and dirtiest industries in the world. Women are often leading the way, and it is with these women and their families that we stand in solidarity.