stries Found Their Way into Iran

The West’s Polluting Factories Rebranded as “Development” in the Global South**

For decades, Western governments tightened environmental regulations, shut down high-emission plants, and imposed carbon taxes that made old industries economically impossible to maintain. Yet instead of dismantling these outdated facilities, many were exported to the Global South, where environmental oversight was weaker and public awareness limited.

Exporting Pollution, Importing “Development”

Post-1979 Iran embraced rapid industrialisation as a central pillar of its national development plans. Under the banner of economic independence, the country adopted numerous heavy and chemical industries no longer permitted in Europe: steel mills, PVC factories, petrochemical units, aluminium smelters and leather-tanning plants.

A striking example is the transfer of outmoded steel technologies once operating in Italy and Northern Europe. While these facilities were phased out in the West due to environmental concerns, they were introduced in Iran as symbols of national progress.

The Politics of Public Perception

Government messaging framed these projects as milestones in industrial growth, downplaying their ecological cost. Five-year development plans repeatedly prioritised industrial expansion over ecological sustainability, reinforcing a model that shifted pollution rather than reducing it.

Environmental Impact

The consequences are now evident: deteriorating air quality, heavy-metal contamination, water depletion, soil degradation and rising public-health concerns. Iran, like many countries of the Global South, became a ground for industries too dirty for the Global North.

Conclusion

What was marketed as industrial “modernisation” was, in many cases, the relocation of obsolete and environmentally hazardous facilities. Without a shift toward clean technologies and transparent environmental governance, the pattern is likely to continue.

🌍 Journalist
Environment is life’s concern
When bread is gone, no tree casts a shadow
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