Mining

Despite the claims of the CM2CET’s frameworks, civil society organizations, environmental defenders, and communities are raising urgent concerns. Beneath the “green and sustainable” promises, climate-smart mining is just a rebranding of destructive mining, one that threatens already fragile ecosystems, displaces Indigenous peoples, and ignores the deeper roots of the climate crisis.

The mining of rare earths is not just about international raw materials policy, as a new study from Myanmar shows. It is also about environmental justice, local governance and the future of the civil war-torn country.

Southeast Asia’s geographical location is blessed with abundant natural resources – minerals, forests, and wildlife. For hundreds of years, these resources have been a source of livelihood and even life for Indigenous peoples, as well as local communities. However, the capitalist perspective of development is rapidly encroaching on the mineral-rich lands of these peoples. 

Climate-smart mining appears to be a better alternative to traditional mining, known for its destructive nature. By hyphenating ‘climate’ with smart mining, it is a repackaged tool to attract the mineral-rich but developing countries.