Land Project Relationships: The Perfect Storm of Negative Community Impacts
The global installed capacity of renewable energy is expected to expand It will reach 60% by 2026, with wind and solar leading the growth.This trend, coupled with land intensive Wind and solar projects herald worrying parallel trajectories of adverse human rights impacts in communities near these sites. Five of the seven countries expected to attract the most wind energy projects – China, India, Brazil, Turkey and Mexico – Score “High” or “Extreme” Risk index related to Aboriginal rights, land rights and security personnel violations. In this perfect storm of rapid growth, land density, country risk profiles and rising human rights allegations, community impacts will be in focus unless something changes. Not only the community is at risk.
Risks for wind and solar projects, companies and industries
In addition to causing widespread and often irreversible harm to people and communities, human rights harm is bad news for companies.Community protests, negative media coverage and investor pressure – these cascading reactions all translate into operational, financial and reputational risks for wind and solar projects, including project delays and cancellations, asset obsolescence, diminished returns on investment, and inability to obtain or retain funding . Case in point: In the Mexican state of Oaxaca, Mareña Renovables are Forced to abandon and relocate a $1.2 billion 132-turbine wind energy project This has disrupted traditional fishing practices and cultural rituals after community roadblocks, complaints and lawsuits.
Legal risks are also high, especially given emerging markets Mandatory Human Rights Due Diligence Act. France’s largest utility company, EDF faces lawsuit Failure to conduct adequate due diligence on its Mexican wind farm project resulted in violations of the rights of the Unión Hidalgo indigenous Zapotec community.At the same time, the court Kenya and Norway As the land was acquired without the free, prior and informed consent and compensation of the Aboriginal people and interfered with traditional grazing rights, the project land title certificates and operating licenses have been revoked.
It’s not just renewable energy companies that are struggling. Companies in other industries are increasingly dabbling in wind and solar, or launching temporary wind and solar projects to supply their businesses. In April, tech giant Amazon A slew of new wind and solar projects announced Its global total reaches 310 in 19 countries, of which 134 are not only rooftop installations but full-fledged wind and solar farms. Similarly, IKEA’s parent company, Inka Group, Operates 547 wind turbines and 10 solar farms spanning 15 countries and has Started selling electricity to Swedish households.
The impact of this trend extends far beyond the project and company level. Take a look at the fossil fuel industry to see how a poor human rights and environmental record can lead to investor skepticism, threaten market growth opportunities and undermine an industry’s public support and legitimacy. The stakes are particularly high if renewables repeat the same mistakes. The pursuit of a just transition is not only a guarantee of human rights, but also a guarantee of human rights. It also safeguards the sector’s long-term viability, and thereby ensures rapid and successful achievement of the 2050 climate goals.
The equation is simple: if wind and solar are disrupted, so is our path to net zero.A just transition won’t delay climate action, it enable it.
the way forward
The next few years present a significant window of opportunity for wind and solar projects to improve their human rights performance before bad practices become entrenched. Preventing and mitigating adverse impacts on the community during deployment is key to correcting the course. The pressing question is: What can wind and solar projects do in practice to address these issues?
This United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs) is an established global standard that recognizes the responsibility of states to prevent abuses involving private actors and sets expected standards for corporate human rights due diligence.recent human rights and just transition Benchmarking found that wind and solar companies scored poorly on UNGP implementation and lacked policies addressing some of the most prominent human rights risks during deployment – including land rights, the human rights of indigenous peoples and local communities, and human rights defenders.
To bridge this gap, Columbia Center for Sustainable Investment Two new resources were recently launched – a business guide and Introduction to Law — Utilize UNGP to provide guidance to all companies involved in wind and solar projects to address community-related impacts during deployment. These resources briefly explain why this issue is important to companies, which human rights impacts are most common and prominent, and the business case for addressing them in terms of legal, financial, operational and reputational risk. They also provide companies with a list of actionable recommendations covering four key areas—governance, policy commitment, partnerships, and due diligence, integration and remediation—and how wind and solar companies can make progress on these issues case study. in CanadaFor example, the company deploys wind and solar projects in partnership with Aboriginal, Inuit and Métis communities so that these communities participate in the project while retaining a share of ownership and profits.
Wind and solar projects may have human rights concerns, but they also have an opportunity to translate these experiences into leadership to drive the energy transition quickly and Fair.
