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In Hamouche 'S “Green colonialism and environmental oriental talism”, the author criticizes how green capitalism under the banner of a “just transition” is often an attempt to rename profits, and to continue to amazement the same power structures that have historically violated African historically. According to this view, the green transition becomes a new form of “green colonialism”.
Instead of really discussing the historical inequalities and ecological damage caused by colonial exploitation, it is suitable for the language of justice and sustainability to promote business as usual – now only environmentally friendly packaging.
Hamouche asks strongly: What happens if the promise of a “fair transition” is co -opted by global elites who try to benefit from the climate crisis and to re -pack exploitation in the form of “green” technologies and “sustainable development”? The answer in the case of Africa is a renaming of the old colonial logic. While green capitalism specifies to tackle the climate crisis, it often takes people who suffered the most from the ecological destruction of the raw material industry and the historical heritage of colonialism.
Africa looks like in a new green veneer with old enemies
Hamouchee's work illuminates how Africa is confronted with old colonial enemies that are disguised in new green clothing. The attraction of the green economy with promise of renewable energies, sustainable agriculture and environmentally friendly technologies can be tempting. But as Elgasim Hamed “renamed Extractivism”, argues, this new face of “sustainability” risks the same exploitative practices that have long dominated the African continent.
In Africa, this renaming the profit is not just about ecological sustainability. It's about control. Control over resources, work and the future of Africa. For example, large -scale mining projects in Africa, which extract essential minerals for environmentally friendly technologies, are often guided by multinational companies that do not make sense in local communities or respect indigenous land rights. What happens if these projects “solve” the climate crisis for the global north, but continue to impoverish the local population and destroy ecosystems?
The promise of jobs and development, as from the local elites, which often act as an intermediary, too often driven to a trap. As we have seen in countries like the Democratic Republic of Congo and Sambia, the extraction of resources continues to enrich foreign investors and lets the municipalities susceptible to environmental deterioration, human rights violations and the loss of their country.
Local elites and the risk of accomplice
What role do local elites play in the continuation of green colonialism? In many African countries, the political class has historically acted as an intermediary and facilitated the interests of external powers at the expense of its own citizens. The transition to a “green economy”, if not carefully managed, the risk simply adds another exploitation layer to the existing system. How can we expect a fair transition if those who keep power in Germany are involved in the exploitation of their own people?
The attraction of green growth, which promises modernization and development, can ultimately avoid the basic needs of the poor and marginalized population of Africa. What happens if these promises of progress are realized, but only for some selected people, so those who need it most urgently? If local elites are more concerned with their own political survival and asset procedures than the well-being of their people, the promises of green capitalism are condemned to remain so-promise.
The dangers of a “green” development model
In Africa, the concept of “green capitalism” is often used as a solution to the developmental challenges of the continent. As Hamouch and Hamed argue, the transition to a green economy is anything but uncomplicated. While it could actually lead to positive changes for some, it could also derail the hopes and dreams of large parts of the population of Africa, especially those that are already susceptible to the effects of climate change.
A blatant example is the construction of massive solar and wind projects throughout Africa, which are financed by international financial institutions and multinational companies. These projects, which are often celebrated as the future of clean energy in Africa, can interfere with local communities. You can lead to the expulsion of the indigenous peoples, to destroy local ecosystems and failure to ensure fair access to energy for those who need the most urgent.
What does it mean for Africa if the green transition is characterized by the same exclusion practices that have defined the colonial era? In this context, the transformation of an economy with fossil fuels cannot bring advantages to a “green”, but rather deepen the inequalities already embedded in African companies.
In addition, as Hamed emphasizes, the renaming of extractivism for green technologies must be in its full context. The global south and in particular Africa remains an important supplier of the raw materials required for the green transition. However, the value extracted from these resources often flows north and leaves the African nations little to destroy their environments. In such a scenario, the question arises: Is Africa just an extractive colony for the global green economy, just like for global fossil fuel consumption?
Rejection of neocolonial practices by anchoring a decolonial JT
It has to be broken down for JT. A decolonial transition to Africa begins with the rejection of the neocolonial practices embedded in the green economy. In this context, Africa must recover sovereignty through its own resources and reject profit -oriented exploitation, which continues to define the relationship between the global north and south. But what does it mean to really free Africa from this cycle of exploitation?
This means that African nations choose their own way to sustainability without being forced or manipulated by the interests of multinational companies or foreign governments. This means prioritizing the autonomy of the African people and determining them how their resources are used and how their future is shaped.
The decolonization of JT also includes combating the history of expropriation and ecological deterioration that the continent has endured. By taking indigenous knowledge systems that have long maintained the relationship of Africa and the environment, African nations can lay the basis for a fairer and more sustainable future. These knowledge systems, which are often ignored in the mainstream climate discourse, offer rich, sustainable alternatives to the dominant development models and offer a framework for a more harmonious relationship with the country.
Indigenous practices that are rooted in administration, community and reciprocity are invaluable when looking for a fair and more sustainable energy transfer. The question must be asked: Why should we prioritize Western development models if local knowledge has been protected and maintained for centuries?
A decolonial transition would directly question the acquisition of the climate justice and push back against the capitalist forces that dominate the global climate agenda. By leading the transition to the hands of workers, marginalized communities and basic movements, a decolonial approach would shift the focus of corporate operating solutions towards a more radical revolutionary program that concerns the basic causes of inequality and environmental deterioration.
Can we allow the same companies that immortalize inequality to define the way to sustainability? Or will we turn to the communities affected the most by climate change to keep the way? We ask again: How can we expect to achieve real climate justice without recognizing the debts that is owed to the global south? A decolonial lesson only focuses on reparations in the focus of the climate agenda.
This includes financial transmissions of wealthy nations in the global south, which enable countries such as those in Africa to develop sustainable economies, adapt to climate change and to recover from the damage caused by centuries of exploitation. Such reparations are not charity; They are a form of reimbursement, a recognition that the global north owes the global south a guilt for its historical role both in colonial exploitation and in the climate disorder.
Building a decolonized transition for the future of Africa
In summary, Africa's path must be based on a fair transition in the principles of decolonization, reject green capitalism and take a vision of sustainability and justice that prioritizes the needs of people before the interests of multinational companies. Africa must keep its sovereignty, local communities and the center of indigenous knowledge systems in the transition to a sustainable future.
True progress for Africa cannot be achieved by the green -capitalist solutions that have already proven to be inequality and environmental damage. Instead, Africa has to look at development models that emphasize the community, sustainability and equality. These are models that free themselves from the colonial legacies that have defined the relationship of the continent to the rest of the world for a long time.
It has come back that Africa has recaptured the narrative of climate justice and ensured that the voices of the most affected people – indigenous peoples, workers and marginalized communities are not only heard in the climate interview, but only concentrate on the climate interview. This is the only way to a fair transition that is really only for everyone.
By Sadiq Austine Igomu Okoh, PhD