Energy Colonialism: Are Rich Nations Controlling the Green Revolution?

As the world accelerates toward renewable energy in response to the climate crisis, a deeper, more troubling question emerges: Is the green transition truly just, or is it reinforcing old hierarchies under a new banner?

This commentary delves into the growing phenomenon of energy colonialism—a pattern where powerful nations and corporations dominate the clean energy landscape by exploiting the resources, lands, and labor of the Global South. While solar panels and wind farms promise sustainability, the processes behind them often involve displacement of indigenous communities, environmental degradation, and economic models that benefit the North while marginalizing the South. The piece explores how the scramble for critical minerals, control over green technologies, and top-down implementation of renewable projects mirror colonial-era extractivism. It also highlights resistance movements and the push for a decolonized energy future that centers equity, local agency, and environmental justice. In a broader context, this is not just a debate about energy—it’s about who gets to shape the future, whose voices are heard, and whether sustainability can be achieved without justice. As we move deeper into the age of climate action, it is vital to question whether our solutions are perpetuating the very problems they seek to resolve.

Read the full commentary, written by Nabib Bin Zahid, research assistant at BIPSS, to understand why the green revolution, without equity and inclusion, may not be as green as it seems.