Report exposes greenwashing of mining industry

Source: London Mining Network

A report has been launched - 'A Just Transition is a Post-extractive Transition' - a joint report by climate justice organisations London Mining Network (LMN) and War on Want, ahead of 20 September's Global Climate Strike. The report exposes the mining industry's greenwashing tactics, and makes the case for a transition to renewable energy rooted in social justice.

Drawing on new data, the report examines how the mining industry is destroying critical ecosystems globally, contributing to over a quarter of global carbon emissions and displacing communities already vulnerable to climate shocks in the process. The report argues that the mining industry is using greenwashing tactics to promote itself as part of the solution to climate change. Mining companies, including Anglo American and BHP, claim that they will deliver the minerals and metals needed for the growing demand for renewable energy. However, the majority of demand for 'critical' minerals and metals does not come from renewable technologies.

The report argues that solutions to the climate crisis must be fundamentally social and political, not simply technical.

Researcher and report author Benjamin Hitchcock said: "Mining corporations are aggressively and cynically marketing their destructive activity as a solution to the climate emergency. It's critical that we stop extractive industries from greenwashing their crimes and capturing the transition narrative. The climate movement must listen to and learn from frontline communities pushing back the expansion of the extractive economy: communities who are simultaneously advancing solutions that embody social, ecological and climate justice."

The report shows that:

The majority of projected demand for 'critical' minerals and metals does not come from renewable technologies.
Money for mining expansion into climate-critical frontiers, including the deep sea, is being secured in the world's financial hubs such as London, the world's biggest centre for mining investment.

A socially just, ecologically viable transition is only possible if the Global North drastically reduces and redistributes global demand for energy and resources.

The LMN - which is supported by religious groups such as the Columbans and Passionists - and War on Want have collaborated with the global 'Yes to Life, No to Mining' solidarity network to release five case studies in tandem with the report. These demonstrate the deadly impacts of extractivism on communities from Colombia to Finland, and also the alternatives they are developing.

Link:

https://londonminingnetwork.org/

Read the full report at:

https://londonminingnetwork.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Post-Extractivist-Transition_Spread_2mb.pdf?mc_cid=a1178ddabb&mc_eid=6ba0c37306