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To avoid climate catastrophe, renewable energy (RE) capacity must triple in the next six years. This will require vast tracts of land for solar installations and wind farms, plus global annual investment of an estimated US$4 5 trillion by the early 2030s to build them. The private sector plays a critical role in this energy transition – as do Indigenous Peoples (IPs). Their ancestral ownership covers roughly a quarter of the world’s surface, placing IPs at the crossroads of a rapid RE expansion and the need to ensure a transition that recognises them as critical rights holders in this effort. If the opportunity of a just transition is to be realised, private sector and state commitment to IPs’ rights and transformative business models designed to deliver shared prosperity for and with IPs is non-negotiable. These need to be in alignment with IPs’ self-determined priorities. This report, jointly produced by Indigenous Peoples’ Rights International (IPRI) and the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre (the Resource Centre), explores the case for a RE transition that centres IPs’ rights, interests and prosperity, as determined by them, in pursuit of a global transition that is fast because it is fair and sustainable. Grounded in over 40 interviews with IPs, investors and RE companies from around the world, the report highlights, through practical examples of benefit-sharing and co-ownership, as well as IPs’ lived experience, the opportunity of these business models, and their challenges and risks. Examples of better practice exist, such as the Okikendawt Hydro project in Canada and Tauhara North II Rotokawa A Geothermal Project in New Zealand. Approaches like these – anchored in respect for IPs’ rights, and with their meaningful participation in decision-making – highlight the benefits for all stakeholders in departing from the abusive approaches of traditional energy and extractive industries: in other words, practices which fuel conflict and imperil public support for rapid RE project deployment and the transition as a whole. As this report reveals, there is no one-size-fits-all model of benefit-sharing with IPs to ensure a just transition. However, private sector and state commitment to three key Just Energy Transition Principles are essential: shared prosperity, corporate human rights due diligence, and fair negotiations. This requires their commitment to core processes and practices that recognise IPs as equal partners in negotiation, design and project implementation, ensure respect for their rights, including the right to Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC), and place value on Indigenous knowledge, experience, governance and decision-making processes. This, in turn, provides a critical foundation for the promise these new models may hold.

Exploring shared prosperity: Indigenous leadership and partnerships for a just transition

Resource Key: 8DENIXUA

Document Type: Report

Creator:

Author:

  • Indigenous Peoples Rights International

Creators Name: {mb_resource_zotero_creatorsname}

Place: Baguio, Philippines

Institution: Indigenous Peoples Rights International

Date: October 2024

Language:

To avoid climate catastrophe, renewable energy (RE) capacity must triple in the next six years. This will require vast tracts of land for solar installations and wind farms, plus global annual investment of an estimated US$4 5 trillion by the early 2030s to build them. The private sector plays a critical role in this energy transition – as do Indigenous Peoples (IPs). Their ancestral ownership covers roughly a quarter of the world’s surface, placing IPs at the crossroads of a rapid RE expansion and the need to ensure a transition that recognises them as critical rights holders in this effort. If the opportunity of a just transition is to be realised, private sector and state commitment to IPs’ rights and transformative business models designed to deliver shared prosperity for and with IPs is non-negotiable. These need to be in alignment with IPs’ self-determined priorities. This report, jointly produced by Indigenous Peoples’ Rights International (IPRI) and the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre (the Resource Centre), explores the case for a RE transition that centres IPs’ rights, interests and prosperity, as determined by them, in pursuit of a global transition that is fast because it is fair and sustainable. Grounded in over 40 interviews with IPs, investors and RE companies from around the world, the report highlights, through practical examples of benefit-sharing and co-ownership, as well as IPs’ lived experience, the opportunity of these business models, and their challenges and risks. Examples of better practice exist, such as the Okikendawt Hydro project in Canada and Tauhara North II Rotokawa A Geothermal Project in New Zealand. Approaches like these – anchored in respect for IPs’ rights, and with their meaningful participation in decision-making – highlight the benefits for all stakeholders in departing from the abusive approaches of traditional energy and extractive industries: in other words, practices which fuel conflict and imperil public support for rapid RE project deployment and the transition as a whole. As this report reveals, there is no one-size-fits-all model of benefit-sharing with IPs to ensure a just transition. However, private sector and state commitment to three key Just Energy Transition Principles are essential: shared prosperity, corporate human rights due diligence, and fair negotiations. This requires their commitment to core processes and practices that recognise IPs as equal partners in negotiation, design and project implementation, ensure respect for their rights, including the right to Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC), and place value on Indigenous knowledge, experience, governance and decision-making processes. This, in turn, provides a critical foundation for the promise these new models may hold.

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