Green colonialism is an important branch of colonialism that some people may not be completely aware of. We often hear about colonialism in the aspect of settler colonialism, where foreign nationals invade another country, settle upon the land, and force the native communities living on that land to work under rules and laws built by the settlers.
This kind of colonialism usually displaces people, erases cultures, and slowly but forcefully integrates ideologies, cultures, and knowledge originating from the settlers‘ perspectives and views of life. Green colonialism is a part of this idea, but we see it now post the colonial eras of the 19th and 20th centuries. This form of colonialism refers to policies and practices enforced by so-called developed nations, businesses, and international bodies onto “developing nations,” or what I’d rather refer to as the Global Majority (Global South), especially regarding environmental actions that ensure projects and initiatives follow climate change goals and help build a greener society.
These initiatives usually refer to environmental protection ideas such as wildlife, biodiversity, nature, landscapes, national parks, and infrastructure in cities, etc., with goals for lowering carbon use, mineral extraction, and climate change mitigation.
The origins of green colonialism are a little more complex than one would think. We have to look at what most independence movements from nations that were under colonial rule had to deal with: being newly independent nations that needed to integrate themselves into the global economy, which has origins in Western nations. Most of these nations had little to no money and had to either borrow money to engage in building infrastructure, education, wildlife conservation, or mineral extraction through global banks that are mainly governed by Western nations. Another aspect is where we see huge mineral spots or wildlife areas owned by businesses or individuals from Western nations.
This, therefore, means that most avenues to initiate their own projects, even with economies today that can allow them to do it on their own, are still controlled by the Global North. Most things need to be approved or overseen by people or businesses from these regions of the world. It means that the Global Majority is completely controlled by the Global North, where there is a lack of autonomy in their own countries to decide what will be useful and helpful for their own people and resources.
This is how we see it develop into green colonialism, but related to green initiatives. It also aims to discuss how the policies enforced are constructed from a colonial objective, where exploitative activities are pursued through political and legal domination over another society. This can create dependency on the imperial economic and political interests of developed nations.
It intends to bring to light that these initiatives sacrifice the people of the Global South to maintain a model that is broken. While it helps those where the hosts of these initiatives are based, those where the resources are held and/or restricted by the hosts continue to suffer.
An example of this would be Germany. It is a developed nation with specified climate goals it would like to achieve, but can it do that without the Global South?
Germany has climate goals linked with EU commitments, where it aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 65% by 2030 compared to 1990 levels. It also seeks to phase out fossil fuels, find cleaner alternative natural materials, expand wind and solar energy, and slowly transform sectors like transport and building infrastructure to use more renewable resources in support of climate mitigation efforts.
Yet, achieving these goals cannot be done independently. Quite a few of the renewable resources and materials needed must come from regions outside of Germany and the EU. In fact, many of these goals rely heavily on Global Majority nations that possess large amounts of land, minerals, and natural resources.
Germany is dependent on materials like cobalt, lithium, and copper for batteries and electrification related to renewable energy. These materials are mined in the Global South, particularly in countries such as the Democratic Republic of the Congo. These resources are often extracted under conditions involving environmental damage and human rights abuses.
To deal with climate mitigation means that everywhere and everyone must be involved, not simply mitigating harm in one region while making conditions worse in another. This is leading toward ecocide. In 2024, the DRC supported proposals to have ecocide viewed as an international crime at the ICC, as the Congo Basin forests and biodiversity are critical for global ecology and carbon regulation. These ecosystems are under constant pressure from mining and deforestation driven by companies and organizations in the Global North. Meanwhile, governments and people within these nations have little control due to their dependency on the Global North.
This is green colonialism, and it is a call for education and change. Climate mitigation and environmental transformation must involve every nation equally, especially the Global Majority. Their voices and concerns need to be considered, and they must have autonomy regarding how to work within these conditions, access their resources, and decide how those resources are distributed.
