Skip to main content

LUP Student Papers

LUND UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

Towards a just transition: Exploring discourses, regulation, and indigenous engagement in Western Australia’s lithium frontier

Ort, Dagmar LU (2024) In Master Thesis Series in Environmental Studies and Sustainability Science MESM02 20241
LUCSUS (Lund University Centre for Sustainability Studies)
Abstract
Reducing CO2 emissions is crucial in combating climate change, with clean energy technologies playing a key role. Lithium is a vital component in such technologies but has extensive environmental and social impacts, including Indigenous oppression. This thesis examines how lithium mining in Western Australia is discursively legitimised and how the discourses interact with Western Australia's social structures, and regulation. Using NVivo and applying Social Constructionist and Regulation Theory frameworks, this thesis conducts a Critical Discourse Analysis of 153 documents from five actor groups. The study reveals three primarily economically driven justifications for mining, countered by two themes scrutinising sustainability impacts. In... (More)
Reducing CO2 emissions is crucial in combating climate change, with clean energy technologies playing a key role. Lithium is a vital component in such technologies but has extensive environmental and social impacts, including Indigenous oppression. This thesis examines how lithium mining in Western Australia is discursively legitimised and how the discourses interact with Western Australia's social structures, and regulation. Using NVivo and applying Social Constructionist and Regulation Theory frameworks, this thesis conducts a Critical Discourse Analysis of 153 documents from five actor groups. The study reveals three primarily economically driven justifications for mining, countered by two themes scrutinising sustainability impacts. In interaction with the social structures, two frictions arise, mostly regarding Indigenous marginalisation. The regulatory responses to these reveal a governmental prioritisation of the accumulation regime over Indigenous interests. This perpetuates the historical capitalist extractivist economy and Indigenous marginalisation, highlighting the need for equitable policies as the lithium industry develops. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Ort, Dagmar LU
supervisor
organization
course
MESM02 20241
year
type
H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
subject
keywords
Green extractivism, energy transition, critical discourse analysis, sustainability science, settler colonialism
publication/series
Master Thesis Series in Environmental Studies and Sustainability Science
report number
2024:014
language
English
id
9153661
date added to LUP
2024-05-27 10:29:39
date last changed
2024-05-27 10:29:39
@misc{9153661,
  abstract     = {{Reducing CO2 emissions is crucial in combating climate change, with clean energy technologies playing a key role. Lithium is a vital component in such technologies but has extensive environmental and social impacts, including Indigenous oppression. This thesis examines how lithium mining in Western Australia is discursively legitimised and how the discourses interact with Western Australia's social structures, and regulation. Using NVivo and applying Social Constructionist and Regulation Theory frameworks, this thesis conducts a Critical Discourse Analysis of 153 documents from five actor groups. The study reveals three primarily economically driven justifications for mining, countered by two themes scrutinising sustainability impacts. In interaction with the social structures, two frictions arise, mostly regarding Indigenous marginalisation. The regulatory responses to these reveal a governmental prioritisation of the accumulation regime over Indigenous interests. This perpetuates the historical capitalist extractivist economy and Indigenous marginalisation, highlighting the need for equitable policies as the lithium industry develops.}},
  author       = {{Ort, Dagmar}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  series       = {{Master Thesis Series in Environmental Studies and Sustainability Science}},
  title        = {{Towards a just transition: Exploring discourses, regulation, and indigenous engagement in Western Australia’s lithium frontier}},
  year         = {{2024}},
}