…The cranes and solar arrays stretching across the Saudi desert are meant to symbolise a future built on clean, sustainable power. But for the migrant workers toiling to build this future, the reality is one of exploitation, fear, and dehumanisation, described by one worker as “hell” and conditions “like jail.”

These are the findings of an explosive new report, “The Human Cost of Saudi Arabia’s Green Energy Boom,” published today by the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre (BHRRC), an international NGO that tracks the human rights impacts of companies across the globe. The investigation uncovers egregious human rights abuses on nine flagship renewable energy projects…

The report raises urgent questions about corporate accountability in the global energy transition…

The BHRRC report names 62 major companies involved in the projects where abuses were identified. These include energy developers ACWA Power, Air Products, and Saudi Aramco, and construction giants Larsen and Toubro and PowerChina…

Catriona Fraser, Migrant Workers Researcher at the BHRRC, stated: “As Saudi Arabia positions itself as a leader in the green economy, migrant workers – who are the backbone of their renewable energy projects – are being exploited and dehumanised in the very industry that should symbolise a sustainable future.”…