“Just” Means “Just” Everywhere: How Extractivism Stands in the Way of an Internationalist Paradigm for Just Transitions

This article examines the contradictions of the capitalist system, particularly its exploitation of labor, humans, and nature, as the root cause of the global polycrisis. It argues that energy transition projects, when not anchored in an internationalist and just ecological transition paradigm, can lead to material conflicts between domestic interests and those on the periphery of the system. The article emphasizes the need for a planet-wide just transition, necessitating an internationalist critique of extractivism and debates connected to post-extractivism. Just transition programs will look different everywhere, but ultimately depend on one another to ensure that they are actually just. By examining the conflicts posed by extractivism in a green transition projects, from energy to transportation, this paper argues for expanding just transition debates in an internationalist manner so that the political practice of transition in one place does not come at the cost of creating sacrifice zones somewhere else.