🌱 How are Indigenous peoples impacted by the energy transition?
Indigenous peoples are particularly strongly affected by transition mining. According to the UN, over half of the “transition materials [are] located on or near land where Indigenous people live”. Moreover, “85% of […] lithium extraction projects [are] on or near land managed or inhabited by Indigenous people.” Moreover, a 2021 report from MSCI Inc. found that “97% of nickel, 89% of copper, 79% of lithium and 68% of cobalt reserves and resources in the U.S. are located within 35 miles of Native American reservations”.
🌱 Why is it important that Indigenous peoples’ rights are factored in?
The failure to address issues around human rights and Indigenous peoples’ rights can lead to community backlash – and ultimately threaten progress in the energy transition. To avoid this, stakeholders from the private and public sector should make sure that “fair negotiations” are held with affected communities and that the prosperity created through the energy transition is shared. Human rights and environmental due diligence plays an important role in this. The creation and enforcement of regulations protecting the environment and human rights is also key.
🌱 Are Indigenous peoples’ rights being upheld by the renewable energy sector?
Indigenous people’s rights continue to be an area were “serious allegations” frequently occur. According to the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre, the policies and practices of many renewable energy companies “remain poor on land rights and the rights of Indigenous peoples”. While some companies have put in place policies around “respecting the rights of human rights and environmental defenders”, the sector as a whole “must do more to explore new business models that give local communities and Indigenous groups a seat at the table through benefit- and ownership-sharing mechanisms”.
🌱 What aspects are missing from most company policies?
The 2023 Renewable Energy & Human Rights Benchmark found that “[p]olicies and practices on Indigenous Peoples’ rights and land rights remain poor”. Many companies fail to provide sufficient access to information, fail to meaningfully engage with communities, and do not assure that and free, prior & informed consent is acquired. Additionally, many companies provide inadequate access to remedy and grievance mechanisms to harmed individuals and communities.
💡 Are you interested in learning more about the human rights, labour, and social issues that can occur in the life cycle of an EV battery? Then, have a look at the interactive visual on Palsa & Pulk’s website.
Read more about Indigenous peoples’ rights here:
- https://www.business-humanrights.org/en/from-us/briefings/renewable-energy-benchmark-2023/
- https://www.nature.com/articles/s41893-022-00994-6
- https://respectingindigenousrights.org/
Read more about the (business) human rights impacts of transition minerals here:
- https://climate.mit.edu/ask-mit/will-mining-resources-needed-clean-energy-cause-problems-environment
- https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-020-18661-9
- https://unctad.org/system/files/non-official-document/GCF21_s4_Laffont_1.pdf
Read the 2021 report from MSCI Inc. here: https://www.msci.com/www/blog-posts/mining-energy-transition-metals/02531033947
Read more about the human rights issues linked to renewable technologies here:
- https://gizmodo.com/over-half-the-worlds-energy-transition-minerals-are-on-1849865104
Read about ways to better address the human rights issues here: