It’s Friday, September 10, and Indigenous resistance to fossil fuel infrastructure is working.
A recent report by Indigenous Environmental Network and Oil Change International found that Indigenous-led resistance to 21 fossil fuel projects in the U.S. and Canada over the past decade has stopped or delayed an amount of greenhouse gas pollution equivalent to at least one-quarter of annual U.S. and Canadian emissions.
Through physically disrupting construction and challenging projects in the legal realm, Indigenous resistance has directly stopped projects expected to produce 780 million metric tons of greenhouse gases every year and is actively fighting projects that would dump more than 800 million metric tons of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere every year. The total amount of avoided emissions is the pollution equivalent of approximately 400 new coal-fired power plants — more than are still operating in the United States and Canada.
This is despite an onslaught of attacks against Indigenous activists over the past few years. Victories won against projects through direct action have led to more than 35 states enacting anti-protest laws, jail time for protestors, and thousands of dollars in fines.
Dallas Goldtooth, an organizer with Indigenous Environmental Network, says the new data highlights how Indigenous resistance can lead the way for other climate activists. “What Indigenous peoples are providing is a roadmap for our allies and supporters to adopt as a way to address the climate crisis,” he told Grist.
The Smog
Need-to-know basis
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