Framing Indigenous Partnerships in Energy and Allied Renewable Resource Sectors. Final Report to the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada

Abstract

Canada is a top five global energy producer and thus is in a leadership position with respect to how it engages in international markets and, increasingly, energy partnerships. Growing global energy demand and international firms place demands on Indigenous communities and lands where benefits could exist, but also where local agendas and views may differ from international strategic agreements. Such is the case in the rapidly expanding biomass energy sector, which promises to support low carbon energy options that also support economic development and Indigenous involvement. Bioenergy is energy derived from any living organisms or by-products (biomass) used to produce energy or fuel (biofuel). Although bioenergy presents a range of advantages (e.g., greenhouse gas displacement, energy self-sufficiency, and regional economic benefits), its widespread use is a point of contention and political debate. The bioenergy industry is often perceived to be competing with food, driving up energy prices, and overstating its environmental benefits. This research examines how partnerships involving Indigenous groups in Canada and international and domestic partners are framed. In particular, we probe current global-local framings emanating from communities and their partners in energy and forest sectors, and, in particular, how different groups frame bioenergy economic and policy opportunities.