Companies leading the transition to renewable energy are failing in human rights responsibilities, according to a new report.
NGO the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre reported that 500 allegations of human rights abuse have been linked to the extraction of key minerals needed to reach net-zero.
As pressure builds to extract the minerals needed for renewable energy equipment and technology, the figures have revealed the extent to which these transition minerals are linked to a concerning number of human rights abuses, it said.
Updated annually, the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre’s Transition Minerals Tracker spotlights the human rights implications of mining six minerals key to the energy transition: cobalt, copper, lithium, manganese, nickel and zinc.
The latest figures published today (7 June 2023) added 65 new allegations of human rights abuse from 2022 – bringing the total number of abuses recorded since 2010 up to 510.
The NGO reported that local communities and Indigenous peoples face the greatest risks from companies sourcing the transition minerals, especially when they act as human rights defenders (HRDs).
Attacks on HRDs are the most frequently recorded type of abuse in the Tracker, recorded in 20% of allegations in 2022 and 29% of allegations since 2010.
Indigenous Peoples and their communities were the victims of 38% of attacks on defenders in 2022, according to the tracker.
Poor governance and lack of effective due diligence by companies, investors and governments awarding licences in the extractives sector have been identified as causes of many of the worst human rights abuses.
Figures for 2022 revealed corruption as an increasing problem with transition mineral mining – often linked to human rights abuses.
Ten allegations were related to tax, corruption and disclosures of payments were recorded in 2022.
The water intensity required for mining operations was highlighted as another significant threat to communities of transition mineral mining, with 15 allegations of abuse recorded relating to water pollution, issues with access to water, or both.
Basic respect for human and environmental rights, which centres communities and workers, is a fundamental first step to achieving a just and sustainable energy transition.
However, less than half of the companies associated with allegations of abuse in 2022 have human rights policies in place.
Caroline Avan, natural resources researcher at the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre, said: “Transition minerals are essential to power clean and green technologies, but the number of human rights issues linked to their extraction fundamentally threatens the speed and scale of a successful transition to net-zero.
“Community resistance – through protest and the courts – to this approach to transition mineral mining is on the rise.
“Ignoring these risks will inevitably lead to conflict, harm and violence in communities and to defenders – and delay any progress towards the rapid decarbonisation urgently needed to avert the climate crisis.”