Human rights must lead our global energy transition

As the world races against time to mitigate its severe consequences and transition to clean energy, it is imperative to prioritise human rights and ensure a just transition. Rose Mayembe, RSK Tanzania Senior Environmental Consultant, says the energy transition is urgent and non-negotiable, but it cannot be fast if it is not fair.

Just transition is more than simply jobs or energy justice: it addresses inequalities through a fair and equitable process of transitioning towards a low carbon economy, including the social justice agendas of climate and environmental justice. It should have its roots in a foundation of responsible business conduct and respect for human rights, including labour rights.

Article 2 of the Paris Agreement states that “parties should, when taking action to address climate change, respect, promote and consider their respective obligations on human rights”. Also, clause 4 of the UN General Assembly Resolution on the Right to a Clean, Healthy and Sustainable Environment calls for policies that “enhance international cooperation, strengthen capacity-building and continue to share good practices in order to scale up efforts to ensure a clean, healthy and sustainable environment for all”.

Different rights-holders are impacted differently by energy transition activities. These activities include the extraction and production of raw materials for transition technologies, the construction and operation of renewable energy plants, distribution, consumption, decommissioning and waste management.

The promise of sustainability may come at the cost of a significant impact on human rights. This might include threats to land tenure rights and livelihoods, environmental degradation, challenges to labour rights and even conflict and violence. In addition, bribery, corruption and weakened governance can exacerbate the situation.

Other social consequences can include job losses in fossil-fuel-dependent economies and the decline of fossil fuel towns, inadequate access to intellectual property rights in low-income countries and a lack of participation in decision-making. Lack of access to clean technologies for low-income countries and subsidies for first adopters favour high income groups, leading to unequal access to clean energy. Additionally, biofuel production can potentially pose a threat to the right to food, and phenomena such as noise disruptions further compound these challenges.

The international human rights framework provides norms, standards and principles that guide governments and other stakeholders in creating effective mechanisms for rights-holders, particularly marginalised communities, to engage in and influence policies affecting their lives. Human rights law provides a compass for developing energy systems that are not only renewable, but socially just.

Humans need protection of their fundamental rights surrounding air quality, health, life, subsistence, access to water, environmental integrity, security, cultural preservation, fair trials, property rights and dignity amidst energy transition related activities. This requires the integration of all five key forms of justice within the energy sector: distributional justice (including proximity and access); procedural justice (assessing impacts of and participation in decision-making); restorative justice (repair and capacity building); recognition justice (acknowledging and responding to differences, integrating knowledge), and cosmopolitan justice (emphasising collective responsibility).

Applying a human-rights-based approach can enhance the effectiveness of transition activities by prioritising equality, non-discrimination, accountability, justice and transparency. The United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights provide a single authoritative international standard and a universal framework guiding states and businesses in protecting and respecting human rights in the context of business activities, including projects to conduct human rights due diligence.

Studies reveal, however, that some businesses and projects overlook this due diligence. A recent report from the Danish Institute for Human Rights highlights this issue, indicating that some renewable energy projects rely only on environmental and social impact assessments as part of fulfilling international due diligence requirements by developers. Local regulations place a disproportionately large emphasis on direct environmental impacts relative to social impacts, including human rights impacts.

Furthermore, the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre reports that social audits have proven ineffective in capturing human rights abuses, as some companies mistakenly equate due diligence with audits. Mandatory human rights and environmental due diligence is a key opportunity to drive a more transformative approach to assessing and addressing risks. Human rights due diligence delivers a proactive approach to assessing risks and providing access to remedy. It ensures all relevant rights-holders are given the right to be consulted, with Indigenous Peoples granted free, prior and informed consent, especially when land and land-based resources are involved in renewable energy projects.

Initiatives such as the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive and the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive in the European Union represent positive steps towards ensuring corporate accountability for human rights and environmental impacts. In 2022, the European Union took significant steps forward by passing these two major pieces of legislation that require corporate reporting on human rights and environmental impacts. Both directives establish a duty of corporate due diligence to prevent adverse human rights and environmental impacts in a company’s own operations and across its value chains. They will harmonise environmental, social and governance (ESG) due diligence laws to ensure the EU’s operation as a single market, as some member states have already implemented their own requirements for ESG due diligence in supply chains. The negotiation process for these directives was approved on May 2024. The directive mandates due diligence in EU operations and supply chains, setting a precedent for global legislation.

It is essential that we continue to advocate for the integration of human rights as part of energy transition. Delivering a just transition to a low-carbon economy that prioritises environmental sustainability and social justice is necessary and achievable with the right approach and commitment. We can pave the way for developing energy systems that are not only renewable but are also socially equitable. The climate crisis demands urgent action, but climate solutions should not compromise human rights.