ENABLING A JUST TRANSITION:
PROTECTING HUMAN RIGHTS IN
RENEWABLE ENERGY PROJECTS
A BRIEFING FOR POLICYMAKERS
APRIL 2023
ENABLING A JUST TRANSITION: PROTECTING HUMAN RIGHTS IN RENEWABLE ENERGY PROJECTS
APRIL 2023
2
COLUMBIA CENTER ON SUSTAINABLE INVESTMENT | ALIGN
1.
INTRODUCTION
ENABLING A JUST TRANSITION:
PROTECTING HUMAN RIGHTS IN
RENEWABLE ENERGY PROJECTS
TABLE OF CONTENTS
A BRIEFING FOR POLICYMAKERS
The rapidly accelerating climate crisis and its already
observable impacts on people and ecosystems, warrants a
rapid and thorough transformation of global energy systems.
Renewable energy plays a pivotal role in this transition, and

Global installed capacity of renewable energy has more
than doubled in the last ten years, with renewable energy
generation now outpacing fossil fuel sources in many
countries. Further expansion of the sector is still needed, and
likely to accelerate with increasing investment and related
policy measures such as the European Green New Deal and


      
examining the social impacts of renewable energy projects in
order to advance a sustainable and just energy system. Much

resources, including key sources of renewable energy, are
found in or around the territories of Indigenous Peoples.
Further, Indigenous Peoples, customary land holders, forest

share of global forests and agricultural lands. These peoples

      which risks
       

     
deployment can erode critical popular support for renewable
energy technologies, threatening governments’ plans to build


of local protest, undermines the argument that such
projects serve the public interest, including the vulnerable

Continuing the necessary expansion of the renewable energy
sector to meet global climate objectives therefore requires
advancing a just energy transition that adequately addresses
its human rights impacts.
1 Introduction 2
2 Renewable energy’s impact on human rights
4
3 Why adverse human rights impacts matter
to policymakers 8
4 Recommendations for policymakers
10

 
 
ii
Facilitate meaningful engagement with
 

 

iv
Institute systems to address human and land

v
Protect the safety of environmental, land,
  
5
Conclusion 18
References
19
Acknowledgements
24
ENABLING A JUST TRANSITION: PROTECTING HUMAN RIGHTS IN RENEWABLE ENERGY PROJECTS
APRIL 2023
3
COLUMBIA CENTER ON SUSTAINABLE INVESTMENT | ALIGN
BOX 1: WHICH PEOPLES AND COMMUNITIES?
BOX 2: PROJECT DEPLOYMENT

Indigenous Peoples are one such collectivity whose rights may be at risk.

among other instruments and judgments.


The scope of this primer is limited to rights impacts during project deployment, which includes all activities
from feasibility scoping through to construction and ongoing operation. Upstream activities, such as material
              
also require careful consideration. Policymakers should therefore address all human rights impacts across the
entire value chain of projects, including supply chain labor rights impacts, and the mining of critical minerals.
Source: CCSI, 20229
    policy- and decision-
makers
       
renewable energy policy. It highlights the various impacts
      
and communities, associated risks for policymakers, and
explains how national, regional, and global policies can help
       
Host states,
where renewable energy projects are proposed or located;
Home states where corporations pursuing renewable
energy investments, especially investments abroad, are
based; Development Finance Institutions (DFIs)
renewable energy investments, especially those required
to comply with environmental and social safeguards;
and Intergovernmental bodies   
economic cooperation, which can set standards regarding

is part of a series of publications by the Columbia Center on
Sustainable Investment that provide guidance on adopting

ENABLING A JUST TRANSITION: PROTECTING HUMAN RIGHTS IN RENEWABLE ENERGY PROJECTS
APRIL 2023
4
COLUMBIA CENTER ON SUSTAINABLE INVESTMENT | ALIGN
2.
RENEWABLE ENERGY’S IMPACT
ON HUMAN RIGHTS
In addition to their crucial contribution as a climate solution,
renewable energy projects can be a vehicle to empower
Indigenous Peoples and relevant local communities.
     
energy, including in remote locations, create local jobs,

owned and managed.

Countless local communities and
Indigenous Peoples have stepped forward with innovative
renewable energy projects to contribute to global climate



      
       

   
  
associated infrastructure development.

Such projects
       
destruction and contamination of local lands, the depletion
and contamination of water resources, and the destruction
of sacred sites, among other human rights impacts. A
      
renewable energy projects can have similar impacts for
peoples and communities, owing to the sector’s demand
for large amounts of land.

One recent study recorded over
200 allegations of adverse human rights impacts linked to


These
alleged human rights infringements point to failures of the

to protect human rights, thereby threatening the continued
growth and viability of the energy transition.

ENABLING A JUST TRANSITION: PROTECTING HUMAN RIGHTS IN RENEWABLE ENERGY PROJECTS
APRIL 2023
5
COLUMBIA CENTER ON SUSTAINABLE INVESTMENT | ALIGN
BOX 3: TYPES OF RENEWABLE ENERGY PROJECTS AND THEIR IMPACTS ON PEOPLES
AND COMMUNITIES

Solar energy requires large amounts of land, for the actual power plant as well as access infrastructure such as
roads, which can interfere with existing community land uses. Land on which panels and mirrors stand typically has

also have substantial water requirements for manufacturing and cleaning of panels and, in the case of CSP, cooling.
Wind power
demands on available water sources. Nevertheless, large onshore wind farm projects can interfere with local land
use as land is needed for the wind farm itself as well as for access infrastructure. Wind projects can therefore involve
land acquisitions that violate the rights of Indigenous Peoples and local communities.
Biofuel production
             
to additional water stress and scarcity, in addition to food shortages and price shocks. Land conversion through
deforestation can also lead to a net increase in carbon emissions. Additionally, herbaceous or woody bioenergy
             
communities.
Large-scale hydropower projects have among the most severe impacts within the renewable energy sector on
the environment and on peoples and communities. Environmental impacts include: changes to water quality and

construction phase; noise, dust, reduced air quality, erosion and sediments; and, in many cases, damage to the


drinking and irrigation water and, in many cases, through loss of land, forced removals, displacement of people and
livelihoods, combined with the abrogation of their rights to their land, livestock, and territories.
Green hydrogen is a relatively new energy source, with high political interest and prospects for substantial growth in

which may compete with water sources used by communities and peoples. Further, production is based on electricity
generated by renewable energy, which can be generated far from the hydrogen production site, as electricity can be
transported via power lines, usually from wind, solar or hydropower plants. The social and environmental footprint
of green hydrogen thus relate back to the siting of wind, solar, and hydropower projects that serve these production

Many adverse impacts on peoples and communities
caused by renewable energy project deployment derive
       
solar generation requires at least ten times the amount
of land as coal and natural gas generation per unit of
power produced,

while bioenergy production and the
construction of large dams can involve land requirements

       
        
case with infrastructure projects. These include:

• Land acquisition without Indigenous Peoples’
free, prior and informed consent (FPIC) or
meaningful engagements with, and participation
      

A lack of FPIC can breach Indigenous Peoples’
rights to property and resources,

development,
20
 

among others. For local

communities, the absence of meaningful
engagements can breach their legitimate tenure

ENABLING A JUST TRANSITION: PROTECTING HUMAN RIGHTS IN RENEWABLE ENERGY PROJECTS
APRIL 2023
6
COLUMBIA CENTER ON SUSTAINABLE INVESTMENT | ALIGN
information,
22
and the right of minorities to take part
in cultural life.
23
• Physical and/or economic displacement of
peoples and communities without fair and adequate
compensation. Such displacement can infringe on
human rights to property, adequate housing, food,
water, health,

development, and a clean, healthy,
and sustainable environment,

among others, as well

     
rights to land, territories, and resources.

• Loss of culture and traditions as well as impacts to
community cohesion and identity of Indigenous
Peoples via the interference with or destruction of
sacred sites, burial grounds, and areas of cultural
   
water, and animal migratory patterns on which their
traditional livelihoods are based. Such impacts
may infringe on the rights to communal property
and cultural survival, among others.

Community
      
consent, and are not conducted in a culturally

with community cohesion and violate Indigenous
Peoples’ right not to be subject to forced assimilation
and destruction of their culture.

• Threats, intimidation, and violence against human
rights defenders via actions of security personnel,
Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation


and other tactics,
30
infringing on human
rights to freedom of expression, association, peaceful
assembly, and life, among others.

• Threats to community health and safety from
   
by security personnel and temporary workers; the
spread of communicable diseases via workers from
other places; and environmental threats from poor
waste management practices. Such impacts can
violate the prohibition on torture and cruel, inhumane,
or degrading treatment, and infringe on the rights to
life, health, and water, among others.
32
These impacts
also risk violating the human right to a clean, healthy
and sustainable environment, which has been widely
      
intergovernmental bodies.
33
• Labor rights impacts where community members
form part of the project’s workforce. This may include

the lack of a living wage, restrictions on collective

labor, and in some cases, forced or bonded labor.
  
Such impacts can infringe freedom of association
and the human rights to work, to just and favorable
conditions of work, to an adequate standard of living,
and to form and join trade unions. Forced labor can
violate the right to life, liberty and security of person; to
freedom from slavery; and to not be subject to torture
or cruel, inhumane, and degrading treatment.

BOX 4: WHAT IS FREE, PRIOR AND INFORMED CONSENT?
Indigenous Peoples’ right to FPIC. FPIC concerns the right of Indigenous and tribal peoples to collectively decide





Evolving community engagement standards. All individuals and communities have human rights to information and



and governments are increasingly being required to move beyond consultations and disclosures and obtain the FPIC
Liberia’s Land
Rights Act Customary Land Rights and the National Lands Commission Acts of 2022, contain
FPIC requirements for all peoples and communities.




ENABLING A JUST TRANSITION: PROTECTING HUMAN RIGHTS IN RENEWABLE ENERGY PROJECTS
APRIL 2023
7
COLUMBIA CENTER ON SUSTAINABLE INVESTMENT | ALIGN
BOX 5: WHAT ARE ‘LEGITIMATE TENURE RIGHTS’?
Tenure rights refer to the relationship among individuals or groups, whether formal or customary, with respect to
land.

access (e.g. to get to local water sources, use
controltransfer
Tenure rights that lack legal recognition or formal documentation may still be legitimate where they are broadly
socially accepted by local actors, and should therefore be respected. The UN Voluntary Guidelines for the
Responsible Governance of Tenure, endorsed by most countries through the Committee for World Food Security,
call on states to respect all legitimate tenure rights.

Examples of tenure rights that may be socially legitimate
even without legal recognition include those based on Indigenous customary tenure systems, shared forests
 


found land title deeds for a wind power project to have been unlawfully obtained because the project interfered
                



Where





ENABLING A JUST TRANSITION: PROTECTING HUMAN RIGHTS IN RENEWABLE ENERGY PROJECTS
APRIL 2023
8
COLUMBIA CENTER ON SUSTAINABLE INVESTMENT | ALIGN
3.
WHY ADVERSE HUMAN RIGHTS IMPACTS
MATTER TO POLICYMAKERS
Adverse human and tenure rights impacts caused
by renewable energy projects are not only an ethical
problem; they can bring about negative consequences for
      
       
and reputational harms for policymakers.
Host states face serious risks, including:
• Delayed or foregone realization of benets from
investments.     
    
can disrupt operations and lead to project delays
or cancellations.

These outcomes can reduce
      
delay governments’ collectable royalties, taxes,
 
production and additional economic activity.
• Legal risk. Failure to uphold laws concerning human
rights can and has led directly to legal action against


• Reputational harm. Failures to respect and protect
human rights can damage governments’ credibility and


governments’ legitimacy among local and national




the jurisdiction. Poor human rights performance may
also compromise a state’s geopolitical legitimacy in
multilateral institutions and settings.

• Risk of policy failure. A failure to account for human
rights impacts can also threaten the viability and
success of emerging policy initiatives such as the
European Union’s Green Deal Industrial Plan, and the
       

renewable energy technologies.
Home states face risks, including:
• Reputational harm. The failure to prevent such
violations can damage home states’ reputation
   
commitments, and broader sustainable development
objectives. Various UN treaty bodies and special
      
have also admonished home states for failing to
take appropriate measures to address human rights
impacts of overseas investments by companies based
in their jurisdiction.

• Financial and legal risk.
operating overseas that cause or fail to address
adverse human rights impacts of an investment may
face project delays or cancellations, and associated

opposition. In some cases, the state company may
also be subject to litigation relating to adverse harms
       

Such delays and cancellations may also cause energy

from overseas projects that violate human rights.
Development Finance Institutions  
energy projects face risks, including:
• Financial risk. Failure to address a project’s human
rights impacts can lead to failed loan repayments as

     
     

     
        
operation if they fail to proactively mitigate social

at inception.

• Damage to credibility and legitimacy. DFIs’
sustainability mandates necessitate that clients
ENABLING A JUST TRANSITION: PROTECTING HUMAN RIGHTS IN RENEWABLE ENERGY PROJECTS
APRIL 2023
9
COLUMBIA CENTER ON SUSTAINABLE INVESTMENT | ALIGN
conduct adequate environmental and social due
diligence and otherwise implement projects in a
manner that takes into account potential impacts on
   

Rights
violations contravene DFIs’ norms, standards, or
internal policies. Such impacts can also compromise
a DFI’s perceived legitimacy and credibility as an
agent for advancing sustainable development.
BOX 6: COSTS OF POOR RIGHTS PERFORMANCE FOR HOST STATES AND DFIS
BOX 7: COSTS OF POOR RIGHTS PERFORMANCE FOR HOME STATES


in the Meru High Court.

The Court subsequently issued an injunction to halt project construction, later nullifying
the company’s land title deeds on the grounds that the land was acquired without proper engagement with, or







The US Development Finance Corporation later

Norfund, and the Danish Investment Fund for Developing Countries.


       

The complaint alleged that EDF failed to conduct
adequate human rights due diligence in relation to its wind farm development in Mexico, resulting in a violation of
the Indigenous Zapotec community of Unión Hidalgo’s right to FPIC.

In June 2022, as a result of the legal action,
Mexico’s Federal Electricity Commission cancelled the contracts which were set to allow the wind farm to supply
electricity to the national grid, rendering the project unviable.




ENABLING A JUST TRANSITION: PROTECTING HUMAN RIGHTS IN RENEWABLE ENERGY PROJECTS
APRIL 2023
10
COLUMBIA CENTER ON SUSTAINABLE INVESTMENT | ALIGN
4.
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR POLICYMAKERS
Policymakers are legally obliged under international law,
expected, and able to proactively implement policies that
       
      
and reputational risks outlined in the previous section,
        
      
this sector can bring. This section highlights key policy
priorities and the diverse strategies policymakers should
       
scale renewable energy projects. These recommendations
comprise overarching best practices which policymakers in
in bold
and examples of how each type of policymaker could
pursue them (organized by actor
i. Recognize and respect human rights,
including all legitimate tenure rights
Host states should:
• 
        
law, especially customary tenure, and rights beyond
ownership.

To implement new and existing tenure
rights laws, host states should expedite fair and inclusive
land titling and other relevant recognition processes in
regions where renewable energy projects are ongoing,
planned or anticipated.

•     
      
     
design and implementation of Strategic Environmental
     
    

considered at both the policy and project levels.

ESHIAs

the environmental and social impacts of a proposed
project, whereas SEAs are strategic tools that go beyond
       
plans, and programs that frame them. SEAs can help host
governments reconcile the environmental and social
impacts of proposed policies, and facilitate the search

restricted for the siting of renewable energy projects.

•       
and communities, position human and land rights at
        
provisions in Nationally Determined Contributions


any relevant policies and legislation.

• Give equal weight to both environmental and social
impacts in investment assessment processes to avoid
climate change mitigation outcomes outweighing or
obscuring negative impacts on human rights. Investment
assessment processes refer to those carried out by
government entities that promote, screen, approve, and


• Carefully assess the implications of any investment
incentives in the renewable energy sector for land
availability and public revenues. Avoid implementing
regressive legal reforms and tax incentives, and
streamlining or foreshortening investment assessment
processes that could cause tenure and human rights
to be overlooked during project deployment, attract
undesirable projects that put tenure and human rights
at risk, and reduce public revenues available to the

Home states should:
• Require companies to undertake mandatory human
     
to assess, address, and communicate on an
ongoing basis, all human and land rights impacts
that companies may cause or contribute to, and
those which may be directly linked to companies’
operations, products or services through their


This
should include, among other requirements, a due
ENABLING A JUST TRANSITION: PROTECTING HUMAN RIGHTS IN RENEWABLE ENERGY PROJECTS
APRIL 2023
11
COLUMBIA CENTER ON SUSTAINABLE INVESTMENT | ALIGN
diligence obligation to ensure that companies do not
violate human rights in the process of acquiring or
leasing land.

• Require companies, for example under sustainability
reporting laws, to disclose their exposure to, policies
on, and performance related to human and land
rights risks.

• Redesign investment treaties to protect the ability
of host states to advance human rights through
new and existing laws and policies. Explore options
to terminate existing treaties that contain investor
      
rights.

If they choose to negotiate new treaties, they
should explore approaches that advance rather than
undermine human rights, including the exclusion of


• Give equal weight to both environmental and social
impacts when introducing or assessing domestic and
foreign policies that facilitate climate action, including
policies that determine the domestic renewable

of renewable fuels or related products.

Development Finance Institutions should:
• Require clients and borrowers, including both
    
to comply with international human and land rights
standards.
• Use relevant performance standards and binding
contractual provisions to compel clients to consider
the full range of human and tenure rights implicated
in the project when conducting environmental and
        

impacts of the company’s activities
(see, for example,


• Give equal weight to both environmental and
social impacts of a project during project selection,
screening, and due diligence processes to avoid
climate change mitigation outcomes outweighing or
obscuring negative impacts on human rights.

BOX 8: FRANCE’S ‘CORPORATE DUTY
OF VIGILANCE’ LAW


the Corporate Duty of Vigilance Law  
years of negotiation and debate among human
rights advocacy groups, corporate lobbyists,
and the Parliament. The legislation requires
large French corporations to establish, disclose,

    
risks and prevent serious violations of human
rights and fundamental freedoms, health and
     
activities of the company, their subsidiaries,
   
      
in collaboration with other stakeholders, such
        


Similar laws were adopted in the
      


ENABLING A JUST TRANSITION: PROTECTING HUMAN RIGHTS IN RENEWABLE ENERGY PROJECTS
APRIL 2023
12
COLUMBIA CENTER ON SUSTAINABLE INVESTMENT | ALIGN
BOX 9: 
AND SOCIAL SUSTAINABILITY POLICY


            



operations that are expected to meet the Sustainability Policy’s environmental and social requirements within a




level,

and the Bank is to provide relevant guidance, assistance, technical support, and monitoring throughout the
project life cycle.


Rights as a guiding example


rights defenders.

Intergovernmental bodies should:
•      
and companies by shaping the global narrative
to acknowledge the inviolability of human rights,
     
development, climate action, and a just transition,
such as under the umbrella of the United Nations

and the Agenda 2030.
• 
of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous
Peoples, including provisions on Indigenous Peoples’
rights to lands, territories, and resources.
• Build capacity of member states to conduct SEAs, and


• Advocate more broadly for the use of comprehensive


and deployment, such as that outlined under the
United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and
Human Rights.

• Encourage reporting on how actions to address
climate change are taking human rights impacts into
consideration in countries’ Nationally Determined

with the Paris Agreement.
ENABLING A JUST TRANSITION: PROTECTING HUMAN RIGHTS IN RENEWABLE ENERGY PROJECTS
APRIL 2023
13
COLUMBIA CENTER ON SUSTAINABLE INVESTMENT | ALIGN
Host states should:
• Integrate, through legislation, mandatory FPIC and
     

state
contract negotiations to allow for human and
land rights issues to be addressed early on in project
approval cycles.
85
• Require companies, through regulation and
contractual provisions, to implement FPIC and
community participation processes, and
guide
companies to design and implement stakeholder
engagements that align with international human



• Facilitate capacity building and provide funding for
independent technical and legal support to empower
      

including the negotiation and implementation of

mechanisms. Governments can marshal funding for
this support from companies in the form of taxes, fees,
and penalties and make funding available through
independent basket funds or other mechanisms for
community support.
86
Home states should:
• Require companies to implement FPIC and community
     
through mHREDD laws, and guide companies to
design and implement stakeholder engagements
that align with international human rights standards


• Build community agency in host jurisdictions by
directing overseas development aid and other
     
    
      
engage in complex investment processes, including
     
arrangements, and remedy and grievance mechanisms.
Development Finance Institutions should:
• Require and support clients to implement FPIC and
community participation processes that align with
international human rights standards and enable
ii. Facilitate meaningful engagement with
aectedpeoplesandcommunities
BOX 10: 
RESPECTING ENGAGEMENTS WITH

COMMUNITIES
To comply with FPIC and community
     
engagements with peoples and communities
should be open to all members, transparent,
  

and in languages understood by the community
or people. Those implementing engagements

sensitive communication that acknowledges
the important role of, and knowledge possessed
by, peoples and communities.
     

technical support to allow for preparation,
deliberation, and informed negotiation
   
be conducted on an ongoing basis and be
responsive to the community’s input throughout
the life cycle of the project, including in project
design, risk assessment, project monitoring,
and in the design and implementation of

and grievance mechanisms.

ENABLING A JUST TRANSITION: PROTECTING HUMAN RIGHTS IN RENEWABLE ENERGY PROJECTS
APRIL 2023
14
COLUMBIA CENTER ON SUSTAINABLE INVESTMENT | ALIGN
     

• I
mprove clients’ compliance with FPIC and community
participation requirements by enabling peoples and
communities to access independent technical or
       
engagement with complex investment processes,
including the negotiation and implementation of
     
mechanisms. DFIs can advance such support by
contributing to, and requiring companies to contribute
to, independent basket funds or other mechanisms for
community support.
87
Intergovernmental bodies should:
• Facilitate regional implementation and improvement
of existing conventions, and support separate regional
conventions that improve the
protection of the
rights of Indigenous Peoples and local communities,
including rights to FPIC and meaningful participation

88
• Dispel false narratives, such as those claiming that
Indigenous Peoples are obstacles to development
and necessary climate action, by compiling and
disseminating information on Indigenous Peoples’
large
contributions to their national societies and
to global climate action, while highlighting their
inviolable rights.
89
• Build community agency in host jurisdictions by
partnering with or otherwise supporting civil society
     
    
peoples and communities.
iii. Advance local-level development,
including through co-equity models
andbenetsharing
Host states should:
•   
led by peoples and communities to enable improved
energy access in remote locations, and integrate
the protection of land rights and traditional natural
resource management practices.
• Encourage companies to enter into, and pursue
     
peoples and communities, in line with best practice

Home states should:
• Require companies operating abroad to advance
    
arrangements, and to explore the design and
     
       

ENABLING A JUST TRANSITION: PROTECTING HUMAN RIGHTS IN RENEWABLE ENERGY PROJECTS
APRIL 2023
15
COLUMBIA CENTER ON SUSTAINABLE INVESTMENT | ALIGN
• Guide companies planning to invest in the sector by
     
     
      
    

Intergovernmental bodies should:
• Mainstream local development and the fostering
of meaningful partnerships with peoples and
communities as best practice across all international
bodies and initiatives, including the UNFCCC and
the UN Agenda 2030, as an essential component of
sustainable development and climate action.
• Require companies, under mHREDD and sustainability
disclosure laws, to communicate in public company
      
communities, measures taken to advance community
     


the implementation of these arrangements.

Development Finance Institutions should:
• As part of their selection and screening of renewable
     
    

      

BOX 11: 







Right Energy Partnership as well as the First
Nations Clean Energy Network in Australia.


  


participation by all     

Further, the community’s representatives should be
supported to access capital, develop the technical skills to participate in governance decisions, given veto rights in
the case of a minority stake, and protected against the dilution of their shares or representation.

ENABLING A JUST TRANSITION: PROTECTING HUMAN RIGHTS IN RENEWABLE ENERGY PROJECTS
APRIL 2023
16
COLUMBIA CENTER ON SUSTAINABLE INVESTMENT | ALIGN
BOX 12: 
ECOSYSTEM
Harms caused by renewable energy projects
should be prevented, mitigated and addressed
in a timely, appropriate, and responsive manner,

remedy. A remedy ecosystem integrated across
policies, institutions, and projects is therefore
pivotal for addressing human rights impacts.
Such an ecosystem can facilitate the early
     
escalation, litigation, and project delays,
 

Grievance mechanisms are central to remedy
ecosystems. Grievance mechanisms, whether

      
accessible, predictable, equitable, transparent,
    
learning, and based on participatory dialogue
and engagement.

Remedies available under
these mechanisms should be appropriate, just,
fair and adequate, agreed upon in advance
     
   
   
     
repetition.

FPIC and community participation processes
      
   
to engage with and throughout the project,
      
ecosystem. These processes enable rights
holders to raise concerns early on and as they
arise throughout project deployment, allowing
for early prevention, mitigation, and resolution.
iv. Institute systems to address human
and land rights harms
Host states should:
•     
grievance mechanisms.

 
including through the establishment of operational

based, adjudicative, or follow other gender sensitive,
   
processes.

• Ensure that grievance mechanisms are accessible by
addressing legal, practical, informational, and other
barriers that could deny peoples and communities
access to remedy.

• Require companies, through regulation and
    
     
communities, and which do not preclude access to
other grievance mechanisms.

Home states should:
• Require outward investing companies to institute and
      
mechanisms as part of their strategy to comply with
mHREDD laws.

•     
transnational torts, and other relevant legal regimes
       
cause or contribute to human rights harms overseas,
       
violations to have standing to bring legal action and
seek remedy against companies domiciled in the
home state’s jurisdiction.

• Where the home state is an OECD member, strengthen


NCPs that are independent from rather than housed
    
encouraging coordination across government
departments and with governments of other countries
in the investigation and resolution of complaints,
and deploying leverage, such as by withholding
government subsidies, to encourage companies to
comply with penalties and compensation awards.

Development Finance Institutions should:

• 
   

ENABLING A JUST TRANSITION: PROTECTING HUMAN RIGHTS IN RENEWABLE ENERGY PROJECTS
APRIL 2023
17
COLUMBIA CENTER ON SUSTAINABLE INVESTMENT | ALIGN
• Require companies to earmark contingency funds for

and provision of remedies, including through


• Expand the scope of compliance review functions of
independent accountability mechanisms, such as
the World Bank’s Inspection Panel, beyond the mere
review of internal policy and procedures, to provide

peoples and communities. DFIs should explicitly
consider this issue as part of continuous external

accountability mechanisms.
• Create institutional level remedy funds to ensure
resources for the provision of remedy.
•    
    
mechanisms and independent accountability
mechanisms, including by requiring clients and all
stakeholders within their value chains to inform
peoples and communities about the availability of
these mechanisms, and by supporting independent
legal and technical support initiatives that empower
peoples and communities to meaningfully seek
remedy.
Intergovernmental bodies should:
• Include reparations for peoples and communities

       
funds. Such reparations should extend to those
      
renewable energy project deployment.

v. Protect the safety of environmental, land,
and human rights defenders
Host states should:
•       
human rights defenders within and across all
government agencies, including by training
     
tolerance policy for retaliation.
• Establish productive relationships with human rights
defenders, including key community leaders, who can
be critical sources of knowledge in policy planning for
renewable energy projects.
• Screen companies seeking to invest in renewable
energy for any history of retaliation or SLAPPs against
human rights defenders.

•      

by companies against human rights defenders.

Home states should:
• Encourage companies to establish productive
relationships with human rights defenders as part of
their strategy to comply with mHREDD laws, as they
can be critical sources of knowledge in conducting
human rights due diligence.
Development Finance Institutions should:
•       
      
       
      
tolerance policy for retaliation by companies against
human rights defenders.
• Encourage companies to establish productive
relationships with human rights defenders as part of their
strategy to comply with relevant performance standards.
• 
of retaliation or SLAPPs against human rights
       
human rights record.

Intergovernmental bodies should:
• Promote international norms and standards to
protect human rights defenders, with special focus
on Indigenous Peoples, and include them in all future
agreements in the areas of sustainable development
and climate action.
ENABLING A JUST TRANSITION: PROTECTING HUMAN RIGHTS IN RENEWABLE ENERGY PROJECTS
APRIL 2023
18
COLUMBIA CENTER ON SUSTAINABLE INVESTMENT | ALIGN
Renewable energy systems are pivotal for combatting

      
can expose companies and policymakers to operational,

growth and viability of the sector. On a policy level,
these impacts can erode critical popular support for
      
the achievement of important climate and sustainable
     
renewable energy governance is therefore urgently
needed to address adverse human rights impacts and
their associated risks.
         


     
the renewable energy sector continue to evolve, home

institutions, and intergovernmental bodies each play a
distinct and important role in advancing these priorities
to shape and govern responsible investment.
5.
CONCLUSION
ENABLING A JUST TRANSITION: PROTECTING HUMAN RIGHTS IN RENEWABLE ENERGY PROJECTS
APRIL 2023
19
COLUMBIA CENTER ON SUSTAINABLE INVESTMENT | ALIGN
REFERENCES
1.
        
;
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Climate Change 2022: Mitigation

.
2. UNFCC, Paris Agreement; IPCC Climate Change 2022: Mitigation of

3. Respecting the Human
Rights of Communities: A Business Guide for Commercial Wind and
Solar Project Deployment


pdf      
  
; International Energy Agency,
        
; Examples of countries where

        
The Guardian

; and Iceland; Government of Iceland, Ministry of
the Environment, Energy, and Climate, 



4.        
Accelerating Faster Than Ever Worldwide, Supporting the Emergence



      
         

.
5.       European Yearbook of Minority
Issues: Indigenous Peoples and Globalization: From ‘Development
Aggres¬sion’ to ‘Self-determined Development’, (London: University
         
      
Indigenous Peoples, Transnational Corporations and Other Business
Enterprises (Copenhagen: IWGIA; Moscow: RAIPON; and London:


; Abigail


 Pitfalls and
Pipelines: Indigenous Peoples and Extractive Industries, (Baguio City:
Tebtebba Foundation; Copenhagen, IWGIA; and London: Indigenous


.
6. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Climate Change 2022:
          
.
7.        
     The Guardian   

.
8.          
        





.
9.         
Respecting the Human Rights of Communities: A Business Guide for
Commercial Wind and Solar Project Deployment (New York: CCSI, March

10. Indigenous Clean Energy, a Canadian community enterprise, for

with participation by indigenous groups in operation or are slated
to come online within two years in Canada alone, and estimates the
number of micro and small renewable energy systems with indig¬enous
        
Gall, Chris Henderson, and Terri Lynn Morrison, Waves of Change:
Indigenous Clean Energy Leadership for Canada’s Clean, Electric
Future       

.
11. Gall, Henderson, and Morrison, Waves of Change; Cara Sanders,
Chris Henderson, and Terri Lynn Morrison, Accelerating Transition:
Economic Impacts of Indigenous Leadership in Catalyzing the Transition
to a Clean Energy Future Across Canada (Ottawa: Indigenous Clean
   
.
12. 

; Stefania Errico, The Rights
of Indigenous Peoples in Asia: Human Rights-based Overview of National
Legal and Policy Frameworks Against the Backdrop of Country Strategies
for Development and Poverty Reduction (Geneva: International Labour
  
.
13. 
Energy Res.
Soc. Sci.
.
14. Business and Human Rights Resource Center, Renewable Energy and
         
   
.
15. Business and Human Rights Resource Center, Renewable Energy and
Human Rights Benchmark.
16. Divyam Nagpal, Olivier Dubois, Irini Maltsoglou, Manas Puri, Luis
      Renewable Energy for Agri-
food Systems: Towards the Sustainable Development Goals and the
Paris Agreement       

Systems       Pastoralism
and large-scale REnewable energy and green hydrogen projects:
Potential & Threats      

; Helen Locher and João
Costa, Hydropower Sustainability Guidelines (London: International
    
ENABLING A JUST TRANSITION: PROTECTING HUMAN RIGHTS IN RENEWABLE ENERGY PROJECTS
APRIL 2023
20
COLUMBIA CENTER ON SUSTAINABLE INVESTMENT | ALIGN
25. 

     
.
26. 

27. The rights of Indigenous and tribal peoples to communal property and
cultural survival have been enumerated in multiple cases, including
Saramaka People v. Suriname 
         
;
African Commission on Human and Peoples Rights, Centre for Minority
        
         
.
28. 

        
Environmental
Justice Atlas    
    
 Inquirer,
2022, 
.
29. Lady Nancy Zuluaga and Christen Dobson, SLAPPed But Not Silenced:
Defending Human Rights in the Face of Legal Risks (London: Business

.
30. Business & Human Rights Resource Center, Human Rights Defenders &
Civic Freedoms Programme
Center, Land & Environmental Defenders    
Rights Resource Center, In the line of re: Increased legal protection
needed as attacks against business & human rights defenders mount in
2020 (2021); Global Witness, Last Line of Defence
Last Line of Defence
31. United Nations, Declaration on the Right and Responsibility of
Individuals, Groups and Organs of Society to Promote and Protect
      


declaration.pdf.
32.       
         
       

. The human right to water has been authoritatively

on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights. United Nations General

33.          
       
    

Human Right to a Clean, Healthy and Sustainable Environment, Res.
   ;
United Nations Human Rights Council, Good Practices on the Right to

   

.
34. Business and Human Rights Resource Center, Renewable Energy and

35. United Nations Human Rights, International Covenant on Economic,

   
; IPCC, Climate
       
       


; World Commission on
        
   

pdf; Marcus Colchester, Dams, Indigenous Peoples and Ethnic Minorities:
Thematic Review 1.2 prepared as an input to the World Commission
on Dams       

damsipsethnicminoritiesnov00eng.pdf.
17. Samantha Gross, Renewables, Land Use, and Local Opposition in the
United States,      

. This comparison includes the land
needed for fossil fuel combustion plants and the land needed to
extract and transport the fuels.
18.       
Respecting the Human Rights of Communities: A Legal Risk Primer for
Commercial Wind and Solar Project Deployment (New York: CCSI, March
  

.
19. African Commission on Human and People’s Rights, Principles and
Guidelines on the Implementation of Economic, Social, and Cultural
Rights in the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights  
; Endorois Welfare


         

         
        


20. 


21.       Mechanisms for Consultation
and Free, Prior and Informed Consent in the Negotiation of Investment
Contracts, (Northwestern Journal of International Law & Business


.
22. United Nations, International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
     

rights.
23. Poma Poma v. Peru, Human Rights Committee, Communication No.



        

 


.
24. United Nations General Comment on Land and Economic, Social and
Cultural Rights; United Nations Economic and Social Council, General


.
ENABLING A JUST TRANSITION: PROTECTING HUMAN RIGHTS IN RENEWABLE ENERGY PROJECTS
APRIL 2023
21
COLUMBIA CENTER ON SUSTAINABLE INVESTMENT | ALIGN

 Critical African Studies     

      Heinrich Böll Foundation
  
; 

.
46.         
Earth Island Journal

.
47. Arnim Scheidel, Daniela Del Bene, Juan Liu, Grettel Navas, Sara
Mingorría, Federico Demaria, Sofía Avila, Brototi Roy, Irmak Ertör, Leah
       
   Glob. Environ. Chang.     
    
     Globalizations   

48.       
Transparency For Whom?: Grounding Land Investment Transparency in
the Needs of Local Actors

   
Burke, Respecting the Human Rights of Communities: A Business Guide
for Commercial Wind and Solar Project Deployment
49. United Nations Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial
     

        
 
;
Working Group on the Issue of Human Rights and Transnational
Corporation and Other Business Enterprises, Mandates of the Special
     
  
. United Nations Human
 
General on the Issue of Human Rights and Transnational Corporations

.
50. Mexico News Daily
   

  
.
51. Joseph Feyertag and Ben Bowie, The Financial Costs of Mitigating Social
Risks

.
52. Coalition for Human Rights in Development, Human Rights Due
   
; European Bank for Reconstruction and
      
       
.
53.         
van de Viel, A People in the Way of Progress: Prostitution, Alcoholism and
a Lawsuit on Illegal Land Acquisition in the Lake Turkana Wind Power
Project    

.
54. 
55.     A People in the Way
of Progress.

rights; United Nations Human Rights, International Covenant on Civil
  

.
36. United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Arts. 3,


 
.
37. United Nations, International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights,
           
          
United Nations General Comment on Land and Economic, Social and
      Land Tenure &
Energy Infrastructure: Strengthening and Clarifying Land Rights in Energy
Infrastructure Projects and Programming (Washington DC: USAID, March

.
38. 
Informed Consent: An indigenous peoples’ right and a good practice for




 
    Government Brieng: Incorporating Free,
Prior and Informed Consent into Investment Approval Processes (New York:

.
39. 
Tenure, .
40.         
Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries

.
41.         
Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries
and Forests in the Context of National Food Security, Art 3A; Vhugen
and Lowery, Land Tenure & Energy Infrastructure 
  Protecting Legitimate Tenure Rights: From Concepts
to Practice     
.
42.   
      


.
43. United Nations General Comment on Land and Economic, Social and
Cultural Rights.
44.       


45. Tegan Blaine and Chris Collins, Navigating Land Rights in the Transition
to Green Energy (Washington DC: United States Institute of Peace,
  
Indigenous World 2019:
Ecuador
    
      International Rivers 
   
 
Mexico News Daily  


ENABLING A JUST TRANSITION: PROTECTING HUMAN RIGHTS IN RENEWABLE ENERGY PROJECTS
APRIL 2023
22
COLUMBIA CENTER ON SUSTAINABLE INVESTMENT | ALIGN
65. Recommendation adopted from Business & Human Rights Resource


.
66. United Nations Human Rights, Guiding Principles on Business and
       
       
    
3, 
.
67. United Nations General Comment on Land and Economic, Social and

68. An example is the EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive.
69. United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights,
      
compatible investment agreements, Report of the Working Group on
the issue of human rights and transnational corporations and other
      

Land Rights and
56.    The East African 
 
; Danwatch, A
People in the Way of Progress: Prostitution, Alcoholism and a Lawsuit on Illegal
Land Acquisition in the Lake Turkana Wind Power Project
57.        
February 2023, 
.
58.       
Respecting the Human Rights of Communities: A Legal Risk Primer for
Commercial Wind and Solar Project Deployment

59. Mexico News Daily

60.        
   Windpower Monthly    

.
61.         
Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries

62. Laura Notess, Peter G. Veit, Iliana Monterroso, Andiko, Emmanuel Sulle,
     
Williams, The Scramble for Land Rights: Reducing Inequity Between
Communities and Companies (Washington, DC: World Resources

; United Nations General Comment on Land and

63.          
       
Roadmap to Zero-Carbon Electrication of Africa by 2050: The Green
Energy Transition and the Role of the Natural Resource Sector (Minerals,
Fossil Fuels, and Land)

.
64.       
     
  ;
      

   

Investment Treaties: Exploring the Interface
 
         
Sustainable Investment, 
; Third-Party Rights in Investor-
State Dispute Settlement: Options for Reform (New York: CCSI; London:
   

    
Legal Frameworks
& Foreign Investment: A Primer on Governments’ Obligations (New York:
   
    
Schröder, Community Perspectives in Investor-State Arbitration (London:
.
70. Cotula, Land Rights and Investment Treaties; Jesse Coleman, Sarah
Brewin, and Thierry Berger, Agricultural Investments Under International
Investment Law (New York: CCSI; London: IIED; Geneva: IISD,
  

pdf; Lise Johnson, Lisa Sachs, Brooke Guven, and Jesse Coleman,
       
Columbia
Center on Sustainable Investment     

   
     
Investment, 
Raising the Bar on Responsible
Investment: What Role for Investment Treaties? (London: IIED, March
.
71. For instance, the EU has recently introduced a new law to prevent
companies from selling into the EU market any commodities that are
linked to deforestation. This was in response to the mass deforestation in
Asia and South America driven by the EU Renewable Energy Directive of



Transport
& Environment,    

; Matthew Chye, Mei Mei Chu, and

  Reuters  

.
72. Republic of France, Relating to the Duty of Vigilance of Parent Companies

.
73. Claire Bright, Creating a Legislative Level Playing Field in Business and
Human Rights at the European Level: Is the French Duty of Vigilance
Law the Way Forward? (Badia Fiesolana: European University Institute,
   
.
74. Bright, Creating a Legislative Level Playing Field in Business and Human
Rights at the European Level
75. United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights,
        
Development Finance Institutions’ Safeguard Policies: Consultation
     

HRDD.pdf.
76. United Nations Human Rights, Benchmarking Study of Development

77.       
and Social Sustainability Policy, (IADB Environmental and
ENABLING A JUST TRANSITION: PROTECTING HUMAN RIGHTS IN RENEWABLE ENERGY PROJECTS
APRIL 2023
23
COLUMBIA CENTER ON SUSTAINABLE INVESTMENT | ALIGN
94.    Respecting the Human Rights of
Communities: A Business Guide for Commercial Wind and Solar Project
Deployment, 23.
95. Report of the Working Group on Business and Human Rights to the
  

.
96. United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights,

97. United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights,
         
         

      

Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an

98. United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights,

99. United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights,

100. United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights,

101. United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights,

102. Report of the Working Group on Business and Human Rights to the

103. United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights,
Principle 2.
104. Advancing and Strengthening the OECD National Contact Point
Peer Review Process: Interim Findings and Recommendations (Paris:
   
.
105. Recommendations adapted from United Nations Human Rights,

  
; Good Policy Paper: Guiding Practice from
the Policies of Independent Accountability Mechanisms, (San Francisco:
   
.
106. United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, Warsaw
International Mechanism for Loss and Damage Associated with
    

mechanism          
    United Nations News  
2022, .
107. Zuluaga and Dobson, SLAPPed But Not Silenced
108. Zuluaga and Dobson, SLAPPed But Not Silenced
109. Zuluaga and Dobson, SLAPPed But Not Silenced
   

.
78. 
79. 
80.         
    Bank
Information Center, September 23, 2020, 

.
81. United Nations Human Rights, Benchmarking Study of Development

82.        

83. UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.
84.    Government Brieng, 3; These

Burke, Respecting the Human Rights of Communities: A Business Guide for
Commercial Wind and Solar Project Deployment
85.    Government Brieng  
Mechanisms for Consultation and Free, Prior and
Informed Consent in the Negotiation of Investment Contracts (New York:
   
.
86. Innovative Financing Solutions:
For Community Support in the Context of Land Investments (New York:
    

.
87.    Innovative Financing Solutions  

       United Nations SDG
Action
.
88. Examples include the Regional Agreement on Access to Information,
Public Participation and Justice in Environmental Matters in Latin
America and the Caribbean (    

making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters (Aarhaus
Convention
89. United Nations Economic and Social Council, International expert group
 
        

90.      Respecting the
Human Rights of Communities: A Business Guide for Commercial Wind
and Solar Project Deployment, 23.
91. Judith Lipp and Sarah Bale, Growing Indigenous Power: A Review of
Indigenous Involvement & Resources to Further Renewable Energy
Development Across Canada    

.
92.        
Partnership, ;
      
.
93.        
Emerging Practices in Community Development Agreements (New
   

  
Respecting the Human Rights of Communities: A Business
Guide for Commercial Wind and Solar Project Deployment, 23; Vhugen
and Lowery, Land Tenure & Energy Infrastructure.
Images: Unsplash



       
      
valuable contributions and expert input from Nora
Mardirossian, Jesse Coleman and Anna Bulman,
and research assistance from Grace Brennan and
Bennett Jarvis. Thanks to Grace Brennan and Reet
Chatterjee for valuable editorial assistance. This
  
an earlier publication, Respecting the Human Rights of
Communities: A Business Guide for Commercial Wind
and Solar Project Deployment (Columbia Center on
     

We are deeply grateful to Freddie Campbell (Indigenous
      
Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human

     
     
Columbia Center on
Sustainable Investment
Jerome Greene Hall
435 West 116th Street
New York, NY 10027
Phone: +1 (212) 854-1830
ccsi.columbia.edu
Acknowledgements
Rosemary Lane (United Nations Indigenous Peoples

      
     




      

     
supports governments, civil society, communities and
peoples, and other relevant actors in strengthening the
      
implemented by a consortium led by the International
Institute for Environment and Development, CCSI, and
        

