Day Two: Plenary panel Decarbonisation, decolonisation and the energy transition: research and partnerships

The goal of net zero implies major transformations of our lands and waters, with utility-scale renewable energy generation and transmission and distribution across vast spaces. A large portion of Australia’s land mass is owned or managed by Aboriginal traditional owners following native title and Aboriginal land rights laws. All First Nations communities (including those dispossessed of land by settler law) must be at the forefront of a just and equitable transition to renewables. There is currently much discussion of social licence to operate for net zero industries and the structures of governance are emerging, including the expectation that free, prior and informed consent guide all clean energy sector engagements with Traditional Owners. In this session we ask how decarbonisation and decolonisation can go hand-in-hand through the energy transition.

OPENING KEYNOTE: Heidi Norman

Associate Dean (Indigenous) and Convenor Indigenous Land and Justice Research Group, University of Technology Sydney

Professor Heidi Norman is a leading researcher in the field of Australian Aboriginal political history. Her research work includes a political history of Aboriginal land rights in NSW and study of the benefits of land restitution to Aboriginal Land Councils. In this later work, she has been focused on the Aboriginal land estate and climate change. She is a descendant of the Gomeroi people from north-western NSW.

HOST: Sangeetha Chandrashekeran Senior Research Fellow, The University of Melbourne

Electrification, energy hardship and vulnerability: results from a mixed methods study

Sangeetha is a Senior Research Fellow in the ARC Lifecourse Centre, and at the Indigenous Knowledge Institute at the University of Melbourne. Sangeetha has a PhD in Geography from the University of Melbourne and her research focuses on how to achieve transformative outcomes for both equity and environment through the energy transition. She has written on smart meter roll outs, the consumer data right, energy affordability in Europe, measuring energy poverty and energy justice for First Nations. A common theme in her work is the changing role of the state and new spatial patterns of energy governance.