The sacrifice zones of energy transition: impacts and resistances to nickel mining in Weda Bay (North Maluku, Indonesia)

n the context of the climate crisis, governments and companies have accelerated decarbonization policies as part of the global energy transition. The development of renewable energy infrastructure is highly dependent on the extensive extraction of critical minerals. This has driven an increase in demand for these minerals, leading many mineral-rich regions in the Global South to become new extractive frontiers for the Global North's decarbonization policies. Among these emerging frontiers is Eastern Indonesia, a region where many islands are rich in nickel. The Indonesian government, under the rhetoric of "green growth," has implemented a downstream industrialization strategy with the objective of positioning Indonesia within the electric vehicle battery value chain. This has led to an intensification of mining and industrial activities in multiple territories of eastern Indonesia. This thesis explores the influence of global dynamics on nickel governance in Indonesia. In addition, the study identifies the environmental and social impacts associated with the recent expansion of nickel mining and processing. It also seeks to analyze how local communities and indigenous peoples perceive, negotiate, and respond to this expansion in Weda Bay (North Maluku), one of the most important nickel-producing regions nationally and globally. The area is home to PT Indonesia Weda Bay Industrial Park (PT IWIP) and PT Weda Bay Nickel (PT WBN), which together form one of the world’s largest integrated nickel mining and processing complexes. The present study employs a qualitative and exploratory case study approach, including 40 semi-structured interviews, participatory mapping activities, and spatial analysis, to demonstrate that the expansion of the nickel industry has increased the mining footprint in the region, affecting even protected forest areas, and has also generated various socio-ecological impacts that affect the ecosystems, livelihoods, health, and territorial rights of local and Indigenous communities. This process reflects what several scholars have described as “decarbonization by dispossession.” These findings highlight a fundamental contradiction: although decarbonization policies are presented as a solution to climate change, they increasingly rely on the expansion of extractive frontiers, where environmental degradation and social inequality are concentrated. This process transforms these regions into “sacrificial zones” for green energy. Reflecting on this contradiction is essential to moving toward a more just and equitable energy transition.

In the context of the climate crisis, governments and companies have accelerated decarbonization policies as part of the global energy transition. The development of renewable energy infrastructure is highly dependent on the extensive extraction of critical minerals. This has driven an increase in demand for these minerals, leading many mineral-rich regions in the Global South to become new extractive frontiers for the Global North's decarbonization policies. Among these emerging frontiers is Eastern Indonesia, a region where many islands are rich in nickel. The Indonesian government, under the rhetoric of "green growth," has implemented a downstream industrialization strategy with the objective of positioning Indonesia within the electric vehicle battery value chain. This has led to an intensification of mining and industrial activities in multiple territories of eastern Indonesia. This thesis explores the influence of global dynamics on nickel governance in Indonesia. In addition, the study identifies the environmental and social impacts associated with the recent expansion of nickel mining and processing. It also seeks to analyze how local communities and indigenous peoples perceive, negotiate, and respond to this expansion in Weda Bay (North Maluku), one of the most important nickel-producing regions nationally and globally. The area is home to PT Indonesia Weda Bay Industrial Park (PT IWIP) and PT Weda Bay Nickel (PT WBN), which together form one of the world’s largest integrated nickel mining and processing complexes. The present study employs a qualitative and exploratory case study approach, including 40 semi-structured interviews, participatory mapping activities, and spatial analysis, to demonstrate that the expansion of the nickel industry has increased the mining footprint in the region, affecting even protected forest areas, and has also generated various socio-ecological impacts that affect the ecosystems, livelihoods, health, and territorial rights of local and Indigenous communities. This process reflects what several scholars have described as “decarbonization by dispossession.” These findings highlight a fundamental contradiction: although decarbonization policies are presented as a solution to climate change, they increasingly rely on the expansion of extractive frontiers, where environmental degradation and social inequality are concentrated. This process transforms these regions into “sacrificial zones” for green energy. Reflecting on this contradiction is essential to moving toward a more just and equitable energy transition.