Indigenous peoples... are among the first and worst affected by climate change... and often advocate for a just transition to low-carbon economies... Yet, paradoxically, there is a growing resistance to large renewable energy projects among many indigenous communities... Many of these groups do not have official land titles where they live, but the government does, and it too often grants titles to renewable energy companies without consultation, consent, or compensation... Since 2010, [the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre] witnessed growing allegations of displacement, harm to livelihoods, and violence against communities, and we have approached companies 94 times to respond to allegations from local and international NGOs regarding renewable energy projects.

... Tackling this rising abuse is vital to guaranteeing a rapid and just transition... [The Resource Centre's] outreach to 50 wind and hydropower companies around the world revealed that most renewable energy firms do not yet have adequate due diligence practices... By adopting human rights policies in line with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs) and the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples—including the right of indigenous peoples’ to not be forcibly removed from their lands or territories, and for relocation to be contingent on free, prior, and informed consent... —renewable energy companies can increase the sustainability of their projects, reduce their own and their investors’ risk, and ensure respect for the rights of indigenous peoples... Investors also have an important role to play,.... [as] [u]nder the UNGPs, they are expected to undertake human rights due diligence... This is a moment for governments, renewable energy companies and their investors, and civil society organizations to bend the arc of society’s evolution toward climate justice—leaving no one behind.