by Bukelwa Nzimande (BHRRC) and Juan Pablo Cardenas (JustRE Alliance)

The climate crisis is the greatest threat to humanity, and the world needs to swiftly build global wind and solar capacity to respond to it. This massive capital flow and system overhaul can go in one of two ways: replicate power and wealth structures, or facilitate their rebalancing, and avoid deeper marginalisation of communities.

So far, the accelerated deployment of large-scale wind and solar energy has been marred by risks of human rights abuses and litigation. The largest developers and manufacturers have been progressing on adopting policies to respect rights – but the gap between policy and practice remains to be filled.

Achieving climate justice in the deployment of renewable energy systems begs a radical change in paradigm, and it must be at the heart of the Just Transition Work Programme’s discussions at the next COP in Belem.

This is an opportunity to address the injustices of traditional energy systems and “business-as-usual” development pathways that continue to prioritise speed and emissions reduction at any cost, with deeply entrenched injustice, exploitation, and often disproportionate enrichment of corporations at the expense of people, land and natural ecosystems. On the contrary, achieving a truly just, reliable, equitable and resilient renewable energy system requires centring the voices, values and aspirations of affected communities, Indigenous Peoples and marginalised groups. These communities are, in fact, holders of knowledge and expertise and have agency. They must be given a fair opportunity to participate in decision-making and determine priorities in planning processes that affect them and their territories. Without this, wind and solar projects risk being resisted by frontline communities and Indigenous Peoples seeking to defend their rights.

Renewable energy companies and developers must not only engage communities but also adopt a rights-based, partnership-driven approach in their operations, grounded in the following three principles for a just energy transition: shared prosperity, corporate human rights due diligence, and fair negotiations. The core values of justice, community rights, and the right of Indigenous Peoples to give or withhold their free, prior and informed consent are non-negotiable preconditions in the design and implementation of these partnerships.

Community co- ownership models as a just transition pathway

Ensuring a fair and equitable distribution of benefits in wind and solar projects is not only essential to achieve climate justice – it is also paramount to build and retain public trust and their long-term sustainability.

Benefit sharing and community ownership models are promising innovative models for the delivery of just transitions, as they present opportunities to address the historic inequalities and injustices of energy systems. While these approaches are not without risks and are not a panacea solution, renewable energy models rooted in justice and rights-based approaches, in particular co-ownership models with Indigenous Peoples, are on the rise in Canada, New Zealand, Australia, the US and elsewhere. Local community ownership has also been prevalent in Scotland and Germany. These models create opportunities for communities to be active players and decision-makers, share economic benefits, and address real community development needs.

These models are not only reserved to Global North countries – there is considerable momentum in the Global South to explore fairer and more equitable solutions that respect and amplify the voices of rightsholders. One of the most significant examples comes from South Africa’s Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REI4P), which pioneered a model of community ownership in large-scale renewable projects. The programme, launched in 2011, now has over 100 projects totalling 7,465 MW, of which 90 have entered operation, with an estimated average community participation of 8.8%. Despite having many limitations and shortfalls regarding governance, transparency, financial literacy and genuine community participation, the REI4P is a global example on how to include community ownership in renewable energy auctions. The Tsitsikamma Community Wind Farm, a 95 MW project launched in 2016, where the AmaMfengu community, represented by the Tsitsikamma Development Trust, holds a 9% equity stake, demonstrated how community members can become genuine co-owners, securing long-term social and economic benefits from the project’s operation.

In Latin America, new experiences are emerging that position Indigenous Peoples and rural communities as co-developers and future owners of large-scale renewable energy projects. In Patagonia, Argentina, the Mapuche Millaqueo community partnered with Meliquina and Sustentar Energía in the 18 MW ANTU Solar Project to design, permit and co-own a solar park built on their ancestral land. Through a process grounded in free, prior and informed consent, the community has taken part in all technical, legal and financial decisions, with one of its members presiding over the project company Cla Nehuen Antu S.A. In Colombia, the 52MW Greenwood Energy’s Terra Initiative project negotiated with the Arhuaco people of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta combines land restoration, cultural preservation and long-term ownership transfer. Both cases, along with others, illustrate how shared equity structures with communities can transform renewable energy projects into instruments of self-determination, where communities move from being impacted stakeholders to active co-owners.

The success of such models within the sector, however, requires not only renewable energy companies to adopt a different approach, but also governments to create the right type of enabling conditions for their success; championing rights-based business practices through robust policy frameworks and innovative regulatory approaches. At COP30 in Belem, the Just Transition Work Programme must discuss these models of fair and equitable benefit sharing and co-ownership to support just transition pathways.