Coal and hydropower energy transitions in India are characterised by violence, which can marginalise indigenous and frontline communities, New research has found
Several incidents of violence have marred the coal conflict in India. Fourteen years ago, police deployed to deal with villagers protesting a coastal wetlands power plant fired upon demonstrators, resulting in three deaths and hundreds of injuries. Two years later, on the opposite side of the nation, a Buddhist monk lost his life resisting a hydroelectric dam project.
These incidents symbolise the complex interplay between India's resolve to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2070 and its heavy reliance on coal for economic sustenance. Mukul Kumar, assistant professor of urban planning and public policy at the University of California, delves into this paradox, observing a lack of attention to the relationship between state-sanctioned violence, land expropriation, and their disproportionate impact on Indigenous and frontline communities.
Kumar's research, featured in Climate and Development, explores "violent transitions," where the expansion of fossil fuel and low-carbon energy infrastructure hinges on direct state-sanctioned violence for land acquisition. Analysing 121 coal and hydropower projects, his article, "Violent Transitions: Towards a Political Ecology of Coal and Hydropower in India," contends that these energy shifts are marked by significant state-endorsed violence.
Despite the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's directive to phase out all coal production by 2050 to avert dangerous global warming, India is navigating a fossil-fueled transition, with coal powering 70 percent of its electricity-generating capacity. Simultaneously, plans are afoot to expand low-carbon infrastructure by an unprecedented 500 GW by 2030, backed by substantial financial incentives.
The Himalayas, framed as a hub for developing over 100,000 MW of hydroelectric dams to combat carbon emissions, exemplify the dual nature of these transitions. Kumar underscores that both transitions rely on state violence and land expropriation to advance extractive industries, with peaceful movements often facing criminalisation and police violence.
In this milieu, India finds itself entangled in violent energy transitions, amplifying the marginalisation of Indigenous communities, Dalits, landless farmers, and artisanal fishers. Kumar's work highlights the urgent need to reconcile environmental objectives with social justice, urging a nuanced approach to navigate India's turbulent energy landscape.