THE GREEN LIE: Communities Expose the Myth of “Green” Mining at COP30

MEDIA RELEASE | 12 November 2025

Image: Yes to Life No to Mining and Rainforest Rescue standing in solidarity with the women in Loeha Raya resisting nickel mining.

The Green Lie: Communities Expose the Myth of “Green” Mining at COP30

Belém, Brazil – As governments and corporations rush to brand mining as part of the “green transition”, communities from across the globe are calling it what it is: extractivism, the same colonial system of exploitation repackaged in the language of climate action.

At the People’s COP and Cupula dos Povos in Belém, Yes to Life, No to Mining (YLNM) members from Chile, Indonesia and Oceania are confronting the false promise that digging up the planet for so-called critical minerals can save it. Their message is simple: you cannot mine your way out of a climate crisis built on extraction.

In the Lithium Triangle of Chile, Argentina, and Bolivia, communities are watching rivers dry and salt flats vanish as lithium extraction accelerates under the guise of sustainability. Southeast Asia, one of the most threatened regions by today’s “climate solutions”, and “green” transition seeing forests destroyed, rivers, coast and seas polluted and Indigenous Peoples and local communities suffering  Across the Pacific, governments and corporations are pushing to mine the deep sea, risking irreversible destruction of ocean ecosystems and violating the sovereignty of Pacific peoples.

Muhammad Al Amin, Executive Director of local NGO Walhi South Sulawesi and YLNM member:

“We call on all those present at COP 30 to stop promoting the narrative of mineral transition through green extractivism as a solution and manifestation of climate justice. A sustainable new energy ecosystem must be built from grassroots communities, supporting initiatives by local community organizations together with scientists, rather than expanding mining and destroying forests in Sulawesi, springs, productive food lands, polluting rivers, coasts, and seas that are the source of livelihood for the people of Sulawesi, Maluku, and Papua”

Ramon Balcázar, Plurinational Observatory of the Andean Salt Flats (OPSAL) Chile] and YLNM member stated:

“Chile is a country that exemplifies the climate injustice at the core of the climate agenda: Very low contribution to climate change, accounting for nearly 0,3% of global emissions and a high vulnerability to climate change, especially in dry ecosystems such as the Andean Puna where adaptation strategies are urgently needed. At the same time, the global pressure for transition minerals led to the expansion of mining frontiers without proper recognition of the Right to Say No of Indigenous communities and without sufficient knowledge of the impacts of Lithium extraction in new salt flats. The paradox of the exacerbation of the effects of climate change by the impacts of transition mineral extraction cannot be resolved without engaging local communities, civil society organisations and scientists”

Natalie Lowrey, Deep Sea Mining Campaign and YLNM member stated:

“Deep sea mining is being sold as essential for the so-called ‘green’ transition and global security, but both are lies. Opening the Pacific Ocean to extraction is not about climate solutions; it’s about feeding military stockpiles and corporate profit. The impact of mining deep seabeds will be extensive, severe and last for generations, causing essentially irreversible species loss and ecosystem degradation whilst pulling us further into a war-driven economy. For Pacific peoples, the ocean is life, a living ancestor, a source of identity, culture and sustenance – we stand with them in calling for a ban on deep sea mining.”

“Green extractivism” is not climate justice. It’s the next phase of the same destructive system, one that treats land and water as expendable and communities as collateral. As YLNM’s Principles affirm, the wellbeing of people and the planet depends on keeping the Earth whole, not turning lands, waters and oceans into sacrifice zones.

From the salt flats of Chile to the forests of Indonesia to the Pacific Ocean floor, people are rising to yes to life and no to mining.

This stance is enshrined in the Yes to Life, No to Mining Principles, which affirm that the wellbeing of all communities, human and non-human, depends on keeping the Earth alive and healthy. YLNM’s presence in Belém underscores its commitment to decolonising development, supporting community-led alternatives, and challenging extractivism in all its forms.

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For more information

Tom Takezoe
(EN, ES, PT, FR)
Mobile/WhatsApp +55 11 95199-1818
membership@yestolifenotomining.org

Nat Lowrey (EN)
Mobile/WhatsApp +61 421226200
info@yestolifenotomining.org

Yes to Life No to Mining at Events in Belém

YLNM delegates will participate in:

Rights of Nature Tribunal, 11 November

COP do Povo / The People’s COP, 12 November

Cupula dos Povos / The People’s Summit, 12–16 November

UNFCCC / COP30, 10-21 November

These gatherings mark a critical moment as part of COP30, as movements from around the world converge in the Amazon to reassert people’s and Nature’s rights in the face of climate and ecological collapse.