Presentation short abstract

A new green Hydrogen megaproject is ending the precarious and unfair balance between astronomy, extractive industries and indigenous activities in the Atacama Desert, threatening local communities and dark skies alike but also opening room for decolonial approaches to just transitions.

Presentation long abstract

The launch of a new megaproject for producing green Hydrogen in the Antofagasta region in Chile triggered an ongoing socioecological conflict that ended the already precarious and unfair balance between astronomy, extractive industries and traditional economies from the local indigenous communities in the Atacama Desert. This work presents incoming findings of the SKYJUST research project investigating the relationship between international astronomical observatories and sustainability policies in the Global South. The paper presents the case of the INNA, the project of an American corporation that threatens the integrity of the largest European astronomical observatories in Chile, unveiling the precarious governance of astronomy and the feeble protection given to citizens and indigenous communities alike face the new green hydrogen hype fueled by mainstream narratives of Green Deal and energy transitions. The analysis shows the key role played by scientific agencies in building broader coalitions but warns of the fragility of science-community alignments, calling for the building of long-term partnerships and the revision of astronomy’s own colonialism. Depicting a scenario in which incumbent colonial regimes are disrupted by a new sacrificial green extractivism, the article pleads for more collaborative de-colonial approaches to just transitions.