Join us for our side event at the Open Society Foundation - For a Safer Transition: Green Energy and Violence Against Defenders - during New York Climate Week, where we will discuss the challenges faced by Indigenous, Land and Environmental Defenders in the midst of the climate crisis and during the energy transition.

This in-person event will take place on Thursday, September 21 at 9AM at the Office of the Open Society Foundation: 224 West 57th Street, New York, NY 10019.

The clean energy transition, while essential for mitigating climate change and reducing the environmental impacts of fossil fuels, can pose significant risks to Indigenous, land and environmental human rights defenders (ILEDs). These risks arise from various factors associated with the development and deployment of climate change mitigation measures such as renewable energy and transition mineral mining projects, as well as the often complex political and economic dynamics surrounding these initiatives.

With over half of the total amount of energy transition minerals expected to be in or near Indigenous land and territories, the emerging land conflicts come therefore as no surprise.

Last year, Global Witness documented the killing of 227 land and environmental defenders, over a third of which targeted Indigenous Peoples. In another study, ALLIED estimated that in five countries, for every killing, nearly four non-lethal attacks against ILEDs were also documented. Of these non-lethal attacks, 83% were perpetrated against Indigenous Peoples, community members and leaders. Between 2010 and 2022, the Business and Human Rights Resource Centre has documented 510 global allegations of human rights abuses related to transition minerals.

During this event we will:

• Release new data from ALLIED which highlights the burden of the green energy transition on Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities
• Raise awareness on the lethal and non-lethal violence experienced by Indigenous, land and environmental human rights defenders as a result
• Showcase the critical role played by defenders in enabling an energy transition which is just and safe and based on a human-rights approach to climate action
• Call on the international community to uphold best practice human rights standards, whether drivers behind the violence are driven by the fossil fuel sector or green energy transition
• Don't miss this opportunity to engage in meaningful discussions, network with like-minded individuals, and contribute to the global fight for a just and sustainable future.

The event is jointly organized by: Alliance for Land, Indigenous and Environmental Defenders (ALLIED), Indigenous Peoples Rights International (IPRI), Right Energy Partnership, Global Witness, Business and Human Rights Resource Centre (BHRRC), International Working Group for Indigenous Affairs (IWGIA) and the International Land Coalition (ILC).