Energy and Extractivism

Ideology of the Campaign “The price of abundance, human rights in the dark”

The campaign “The price of abundance, human rights in the dark” summarizes the opposing realities experienced on our planet. At EWB, we want to be aware of these inequalities and fight them: the exponential economic growth model oriented towards exacerbated consumption generates unlimited accumulation for a privileged part of the population, while at the same time the negative impacts and the violation of human rights of the majority of the population remain in the dark.

Likewise, in the context of the current energy crisis, large corporations are also taking control of energy and resources, both in the North and in the global South, turning the basic right of access to energy into a commodity. Their extractivist management perpetuates the constant violation of human rights, the flagrant overexploitation of natural resources and the destruction of ecosystems, resulting in an unsustainable and unjust model.

At EWB we defend that another energy model is possible:

Faced with this situation, it is imperative to promote alternatives that put life at the center and do not allow the current abuses, we defend:

  • Model based on the respect and protection of human rights and the environment.
  • A public management model that ensures access to energy needs as a basic right.
  • A productive model that guarantees the sustainability of available common goods.
  • A model aware of the impact of energy infrastructures implemented in the territories of the North and the global South.
  • A democratic and citizen-controlled model, where decision-making spaces are led by the populations involved.
  • Model based on the empowerment of populations through access to information and awareness of our rights.
  • Model that includes an ecofeminist perspective in both the diagnosis and the proposal. This allows us to understand ourselves as interdependent and eco-dependent societies and communities, and to continue fighting to put life at the center.

To achieve this, at EWB and in the Energy and Extractive Industries Group we work for:

  • Reflect on the need for a change in the model of consumption of natural resources based on justice, respect for human rights and sustainability.
  • To raise awareness and educate about the dynamics that perpetuate an unsustainable consumption model and the impacts that extractive industries and energy corporations cause in their interventions, both globally and locally.
  • Support and reinforce social organizations and movements in the Global North and South in their daily work of denouncing the impacts of the energy model and extractive industries, as well as in the processes of change that these grassroots collectives are promoting
  • To influence political actors to demand that energy and extractive industries respect the environment and human rights.
  • Demand from governments a regulatory framework that puts the interests of citizens before the business of large corporations, and thus guarantee the transition to a socio-economic model with social and climate justice.
  • Work for a paradigm shift in energy production, distribution and consumption model through citizen participation in order to control the occupation of territory, democratize ownership and management of infrastructures, and guarantee the universal access to basic services.
  • Reverse the model of overexploitation of resources given its impact on ecosystems and populations.