{"id":379064,"date":"2021-11-08T11:45:00","date_gmt":"2021-11-08T11:45:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/grist.org\/?p=551686"},"modified":"2021-11-08T11:45:00","modified_gmt":"2021-11-08T11:45:00","slug":"report-the-renewable-future-is-being-built-on-exploitation-too","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/2021\/11\/08\/report-the-renewable-future-is-being-built-on-exploitation-too\/","title":{"rendered":"Report: The renewable future is being built on exploitation, too"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
Eleven years ago, a human rights violation complaint arrived at the Business and Human Rights Resources Centre, or BHRRC. The London-based nonprofit monitors the activities of more than 10,000 companies around the world, and receives complaints about abuses every day. But this one was different: For the first time, the grievance involved a renewable energy project. Soon after, similar complaints began trickling in year after year. They warned that solar, wind, and hydroelectric companies were taking over land, restricting access to water, violating Indigenous people\u2019s rights to prior and informed consent, and denying decent wages for workers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Between 2010 and 2021, the center received more than 200 allegations<\/a> of human rights violations linked to the renewable energy sector. \u201cIt became concerning,\u201d said Mark Hays, a senior consultant at BHRRC. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Last year, Hays and his colleagues established a way to analyze and score the \u201chuman rights policies and practices\u201d of 15 of the world\u2019s biggest renewable energy companies. They found that on average, the companies scored just 22 percent for their human rights practices across their supply chains. Last week, the group released its second analysis,<\/a> saying the findings \u201cshould set off alarm bells.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Although there was a slight increase in the average score to 28 percent, that number still \u201cimplies major human rights risks for communities and workers,\u201d the report says. \u201cAbusive business models, and the loss of trust they generate, put at risk the much-needed energy transition our futures depend on.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n The abuses include land rights disputes in places like Chile<\/a> and Ethiopia<\/a>, and the killings of several Indigenous activists opposing a hydroelectric power plant in Guatemala<\/a>. Other examples include the violation of the right to prior and informed consultation with Indigenous communities in Kenya<\/a>, Mexico<\/a>, and Morocco<\/a>, among others; legal harassment against wind turbine opponents in Taiwan<\/a>; and reports of underpaid migrant employees in offshore wind farms in Scotland<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt\u2019s a very interesting report, timely and relevant,\u201d said Susana Batel, a researcher studying social justice issues in the energy transition at Lisbon University. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Researchers at the Business and Human Rights Resources Centre asked three basic questions: Do these companies explicitly recognize they have to respect human rights? Do they try to address potential conflicts before they happen? Do communities have mechanisms to be heard by the company — and will they receive relief in case a violation occurs? <\/p>\n\n\n\n