Urfolksrätt i den gröna omställningen - En rättslig analys av samernas rätt till FPIC vid etableringen av vindkraft i Sápmi ur ett miljörättviseperspektiv
(2025) JURM02 20251Department of Law
Faculty of Law
- Abstract
- The expansion of wind power as part of Sweden’s green transition has led to increased development in Sápmi, with consequences for Sámi culture. Sámi representatives have linked this exploitation to the historical dispossession of Sámi land and referred to it as green colonialism. At the same time, the Sámi people are particularly affected by the climate change that wind power is intended to mitigate.
Therefore, this thesis aims to examine how the Sámi people’s rights as an Indigenous people, particularly the right to free, prior and informed consent (FPIC), are respected under Swedish law in the context of the green transition, with focus on wind power development in Sápmi. FPIC requires that states consult and cooperate with Indigenous... (More) - The expansion of wind power as part of Sweden’s green transition has led to increased development in Sápmi, with consequences for Sámi culture. Sámi representatives have linked this exploitation to the historical dispossession of Sámi land and referred to it as green colonialism. At the same time, the Sámi people are particularly affected by the climate change that wind power is intended to mitigate.
Therefore, this thesis aims to examine how the Sámi people’s rights as an Indigenous people, particularly the right to free, prior and informed consent (FPIC), are respected under Swedish law in the context of the green transition, with focus on wind power development in Sápmi. FPIC requires that states consult and cooperate with Indigenous peoples in order to obtain their consent prior to implementing measures or projects that may affect them. The principle is composed of three cumulative rights: the right to participation, the right to consultation, and the right to lands, territories, and resources. Given that the Sámi are affected both by the consequences of exploitation and by climate change, this raises the question whether such development can be considered just, from the perspective of environmental justice. Against this background, the thesis analyses wind power expansion and the Sámi people’s right to FPIC through the lens of different environmental justice concepts and examines the extent to which these concepts are fulfilled in this context.
Based on legal analytical method, the thesis investigates the requirements of FPIC, as expressed particularly in UNDRIP and ILO No. 169, with reference to interpretations by international bodies, and how this right is fulfilled within Swedish law.
The thesis concludes that the Sámi people’s right to FPIC cannot be fulfilled when the Swedish state focuses solely on the procedural aspect of consulta-tion, without considering human rights and the broader context in which con-sultation exists. Collective rights are not recognised as human rights, while individual rights are prioritised, which risks reinforcing historical powerstructures and contributing to green colonialism. For FPIC to be implemented in a meaningful way, the Sámi people’s right so self-determination must be respected, their collective rights must be recognised as human rights, and these rights must be given real weight in decision-making processes. If this does not occur, the different concepts of environmental justice cannot be fully realised. (Less) - Abstract (Swedish)
- Satsningen på vindkraft som en del av Sveriges gröna omställning har lett till ökade etableringar i Sápmi, med konsekvenser för den samiska kulturen. Samiska företrädare har kopplat denna exploatering till det historiska fråntagandet av samisk mark och benämnt detta som grön kolonialism. Samtidigt är samerna särskilt drabbade av de klimatförändringar vindkraften är tänkt att motverka.
Denna uppsats syftar därför till att undersöka hur samernas urfolksrättigheter, särskilt rätten till fritt, informerat och på förhand givet samtycke (FPIC), tillgodoses i svensk rätt i samband med den gröna omställningen, med fokus på vindkraftsutbyggnaden i Sápmi. FPIC innebär att stater ska konsultera och samarbeta med urfolk i syfte att erhålla samtycke... (More) - Satsningen på vindkraft som en del av Sveriges gröna omställning har lett till ökade etableringar i Sápmi, med konsekvenser för den samiska kulturen. Samiska företrädare har kopplat denna exploatering till det historiska fråntagandet av samisk mark och benämnt detta som grön kolonialism. Samtidigt är samerna särskilt drabbade av de klimatförändringar vindkraften är tänkt att motverka.
Denna uppsats syftar därför till att undersöka hur samernas urfolksrättigheter, särskilt rätten till fritt, informerat och på förhand givet samtycke (FPIC), tillgodoses i svensk rätt i samband med den gröna omställningen, med fokus på vindkraftsutbyggnaden i Sápmi. FPIC innebär att stater ska konsultera och samarbeta med urfolk i syfte att erhålla samtycke innan åtgärder eller projekt som kan påverka dem genomförs. Principen utgörs av tre kumulativa rättig-heter: rätten till deltagande, rätten till konsultation, samt rätten till landområden, territorier och naturresurser. Eftersom samerna drabbas både av konsekvenserna av exploatering och klimatförändringarna väcks frågan om huruvida detta är rättvist utifrån teorier om miljörättvisa. Mot denna bakgrund analyseras vindkraftsetableringen och samernas rätt till FPIC utifrån olika koncept av miljörättvisa. Uppsatsen undersöker även i vilken mån de olika koncepten av miljörättvisa tillgodoses i detta sammanhang.
Med utgångspunkt i rättsanalytisk metod utreder uppsatsen vad kravet på FPIC, som framför allt framgår av UNDRIP och ILO No. 169, innebär utifrån internationella organs tolkningar och hur denna rätt tillgodoses i svensk rätt.
I uppsatsens slutsats konstateras att samernas rätt till FPIC inte kan tillgodo-ses när den svenska staten endast fokuserar på den processuella aspekten av konsultation, utan att ha ett tydligt fokus på mänskliga rättigheter och det sammanhang rätten till konsultation existerar i. Kollektiva rättigheter erkänns inte inom ramen för mänskliga rättigheter, samtidigt som individuella rättig-heter ges företräde, vilket riskerarar att befästa gamla maktstrukturer och bi-dra till grön kolonialism. För att FPIC ska få verkligt genomslag krävs att samers rätt till självbestämmande respekteras, att deras kollektiva rättigheter erkänns som mänskliga rättigheter, samt att dessa rättigheter ges faktisk betydelse i beslutsfattande. Så länge detta inte sker kan inte heller de olika kon-cepten av miljörättvisa tillgodoses. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9189257
- author
- Rosenmüller, Mathilda LU
- supervisor
- organization
- alternative title
- Indigenous Rights in the Green Transition - A Legal Analysis of the Sámi People's Right to FPIC in the Context of Wind Power Development in Sápmi from an Environmental Justice Perspective
- course
- JURM02 20251
- year
- 2025
- type
- H3 - Professional qualifications (4 Years - )
- subject
- keywords
- Folkrätt, Urfolksrätt, Samerätt, FPIC, Vindkraft
- language
- Swedish
- id
- 9189257
- date added to LUP
- 2025-06-19 11:50:24
- date last changed
- 2025-06-19 11:50:24
@misc{9189257,
abstract = {{The expansion of wind power as part of Sweden’s green transition has led to increased development in Sápmi, with consequences for Sámi culture. Sámi representatives have linked this exploitation to the historical dispossession of Sámi land and referred to it as green colonialism. At the same time, the Sámi people are particularly affected by the climate change that wind power is intended to mitigate.
Therefore, this thesis aims to examine how the Sámi people’s rights as an Indigenous people, particularly the right to free, prior and informed consent (FPIC), are respected under Swedish law in the context of the green transition, with focus on wind power development in Sápmi. FPIC requires that states consult and cooperate with Indigenous peoples in order to obtain their consent prior to implementing measures or projects that may affect them. The principle is composed of three cumulative rights: the right to participation, the right to consultation, and the right to lands, territories, and resources. Given that the Sámi are affected both by the consequences of exploitation and by climate change, this raises the question whether such development can be considered just, from the perspective of environmental justice. Against this background, the thesis analyses wind power expansion and the Sámi people’s right to FPIC through the lens of different environmental justice concepts and examines the extent to which these concepts are fulfilled in this context.
Based on legal analytical method, the thesis investigates the requirements of FPIC, as expressed particularly in UNDRIP and ILO No. 169, with reference to interpretations by international bodies, and how this right is fulfilled within Swedish law.
The thesis concludes that the Sámi people’s right to FPIC cannot be fulfilled when the Swedish state focuses solely on the procedural aspect of consulta-tion, without considering human rights and the broader context in which con-sultation exists. Collective rights are not recognised as human rights, while individual rights are prioritised, which risks reinforcing historical powerstructures and contributing to green colonialism. For FPIC to be implemented in a meaningful way, the Sámi people’s right so self-determination must be respected, their collective rights must be recognised as human rights, and these rights must be given real weight in decision-making processes. If this does not occur, the different concepts of environmental justice cannot be fully realised.}},
author = {{Rosenmüller, Mathilda}},
language = {{swe}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{Urfolksrätt i den gröna omställningen - En rättslig analys av samernas rätt till FPIC vid etableringen av vindkraft i Sápmi ur ett miljörättviseperspektiv}},
year = {{2025}},
}