It has been known for many, many decades that the extraction, processing and use of fossil fuels is comfortably one of the worst human rights disasters in all of human history.
At every single stage of their life cycle, coal oil and gas have the effect of eroding basic air, water and food quality, in destabilising democracies or assisting authoritarians and autocrats, and ultimately overheating Earth’s atmosphere for many thousands of years to come.
It is a wonderful thing indeed that after a century of reliance on these fuels, we now have ready alternatives.
Wind and solar, lithium-ion battery storage, pumped hydro and other forms of clean generation can be paired with the conversion of industry, transport and buildings to run on electricity, essentially squeezing fossil fuels from human society.
But the process of building and maintaining the technologies has always had to exist in the same economic, social and environmental frameworks as the fossil fuel economy, and that means some parts of the clean tech supply chain have triggered similar human rights issues to those we’ve seen in the fossil fuel industry; albeit at a much lower level.
The ‘Renewable Energy & Human Rights Benchmark’, published by the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre (BHRRC) has been tracking many of these issues with the explicit aim of ensuring that the process of transitioning away from fossil fuels does not come burdened with new and avoidable human rights abuses.
It is something that must be addressed for the energy transition to be sustained at a high pace over the coming decades.
The 2025 edition, released on Wednesday, shows that “the renewables sector is making significant progress on embedding human rights into its operations, despite the challenging environment created by adverse government policies (notably in the USA), high interest and inflation costs”.
The reports authors put this down to two factors. First, a recognition among the companies that rampant human rights abuses in the renewable sector will only slow down the transition and weaken their businesses. And pre-emptive company policy change in advance of new European Union regulations.
Europe based utilities, like Iberdrola and Ørsted have led the pack, and solar panel manufacturers in particular seem to have noticeably improved their scores (though they still lag behind wind turbine manufacturers). Happily, 85% of companies improved or maintained their scores.
The BHRRC point to some lingering and major problems. Scores for land and resource rights are abysmal (2% on average, compared to 1% in 2023). Benefit sharing for Indigenous Peoples’ and affected communities’ and responsible mineral sourcing also remain low.
“Engagement with mineral supply chains and associated human rights abuses is essential, or renewable energy companies will face disruptions and delays, as risk of social conflicts and litigation are mounting – with long term consequences for the renewable energy sector”.
Notably, two major companies have major investments in Australia. Brookfield, which recently purchased Neoen, are global leaders in the co-ownership of renewable energy projects. Iberdrola are prioritising community decision-making in benefit sharing in renewable energy projects.
The report features a deep dive into benefit sharing arrangements for new renewable energy projects, highlight the significant progress being made in this area. The report quotes Iberdrola directly, and they cite their Australian operations:
“Iberdrola’s subsidiaries, ScottishPower and Iberdrola Australia, have in place Community Energy Funds… ScottishPower Renewables empowers communities to determine how community benefit funds they receive from its operational windfarms will best address local needs… We also support several communities that choose to direct funds towards initiatives to help local people address rising energy costs…”
Caroline Avan, Head of Natural Resources and Just Energy Transition, Business & Human Rights Resource Centre, said the renewable energy industry is at a crossroads.
“Bot only is it building the infrastructures of our future global energy system, but it also has the potential to contribute to a fairer global economic order and shared prosperity for all in the energy transition,” she said.
“Positively, part of the industry has shown it is taking serious steps towards this.”
“Results from the 2025 Renewable Energy & Human Rights Benchmark show that these companies are coming around to the fact that a fast energy transition can only be one that is also fair and rights-respecting.
“They also appear to understand that if they promote shared prosperity for local communities in which their operations are based, this is not only the right thing to do, but it also offers them a competitive advantage. These are all positive signs that the sector is moving in the right direction.”
Domestically in Australia, community engagement, ownership and backlash have featured as the core societal issues around the deployment of renewable energy and supporting infrastructure, such as transmission lines.
Australia is set to announce a 2035 climate target in the coming days, however progress towards meeting an 82% 2030 renewable energy target is insufficient. Tackling these community-related issues is more pertinent than ever, and this report shows clear signs of green shoots for key players in Australia’s renewable energy transition.
