Intersectional Justice in Extractivism for the Energy Transition: Decolonial and Gender Perspectives

Abstract

The accelerating global energy transition has intensified demand for the minerals and agricultural commodities required for so-called “green” technologies, driving a rapid expansion of extractive industries. While these processes are commonly framed as necessary and sustainable, they often generate severe social, environmental, and spiritual harms, disproportionately affecting Indigenous communities in the Global South and women. These harms do not occur in isolation; they compound and reinforce one another through intersecting structures of power related to race, gender, class, and coloniality, producing intersectional experiences of marginalization.

This thesis examines how extractivism for the energy transition is experienced and resisted through intersectional decolonial and gender justice perspectives, asking: "What do intersectional decolonial and gender justice perspectives reveal about the impacts of and resistances to extractive industries, grounded in the case of Iximulew (Guatemala), and how can these inform more inclusive international governance approaches?"

The research is grounded in a qualitative case study in the region around El Estor, Iximulew (an Indigenous name for Guatemala) where Indigenous Maya Q’eqchi’ communities are affected by nickel mining and palm oil monocultivation. Both activities are closely linked to the global energy transition: nickel is a key input in battery production, while palm oil is widely used for biofuel. The study centers lived experiences and Indigenous knowledge systems that are often underrepresented or actively repressed in academic and policy debates. It combines interviews with community members, human and environmental rights defenders, women leaders, journalists, and activists, alongside participatory research and document analysis. Data are analyzed through reflexive thematic and constructivist approaches grounded in an intersectional decolonial ecofeminist framework.

The findings show that understanding extractivism in El Estor requires first engaging the Q’eqchi’ cosmovision, which offers counter-hegemonic conceptions of Territory, justice, and development. Territory is understood as a living, relational entity encompassing humans, nonhuman beings, ancestors, and spirits. Justice and development are grounded in balance, reciprocity, care, intergenerational responsibility, and a collective vision of Buen Vivir (“Living Well”). These perspectives stand in sharp contrast to extractivist logics rooted in colonial and patriarchal hierarchies, accumulation, and short-term profit.

Testimonies from El Estor reveal extractivism as a multidimensional process of dispossession, harm, and resistance. Beyond territorial loss and environmental degradation, extractive industries erode social fabrics, undermine spiritual relationships with Territory, and produce long-term psychological and collective wounds. These impacts are deeply gendered. Indigenous women face intersecting marginalization—including systemic exclusion, intensified care burdens, and heightened exposure to gender-based violence—while also emerging as central agents of resistance.

Through a constructivist analysis, the thesis demonstrates how extractivism, coloniality, and patriarchy intersect across multiple domains: authority, economy, knowledge, subjectivity, and gender. Together, they form an intersectional structure of domination. At the same time, counter-hegemonic resistance and healing emerge from within these structures.

Finally, the thesis connects local struggles in Iximulew to global governance by examining the UN Binding Treaty on Business and Human Rights. While the Treaty presents a historic opportunity to challenge corporate impunity, it remains influenced by colonial, patriarchal, and neoliberal assumptions. The thesis proposes three interlinked recommendations: critically revisiting dominant development definitions, meaningfully centering Indigenous and feminist voices, and adopting the Treaty only in a form that is genuinely representative of pluriversal, intersectional justice. Indigenous women emerge as key agents of change essential for reimagining just governance and equitable energy futures.