Widely regarded as a solution for climate change, renewable energy projects are booming in Southeast Asia. Installed solar and wind energy capacity across the 10 member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) surged by 20% in 2023 to account for 9% of the region’s total energy mix. But while renewables have the potential to stem the demand for fossil fuels, a new report shows that wind and solar companies operating in Southeast Asia could be doing more to ensure they aren’t having unintended impacts on people’s rights and lives. The integrity of wind and solar companies’ human rights policies and practices was the topic of a recent investigation by the Business and Human Rights Resource Centre (BHRRC), a U.K.-based private sector watchdog. Researchers scrutinized the guiding principles of 12 energy companies operating in Vietnam, Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines, finding all companies lacked policies to protect the human rights of environmental defenders. Many also fell short on commitments to respect the human rights of communities affected by their operations. “Southeast Asia has shown a clear commitment to the green energy transition,” said Pochoy Labog, BHRRC’s Southeast Asia researcher. “However, these efforts risk being undermined by the serious human rights risks associated with these operations, which have not been prioritised by renewable energy companies.” Solar panels require transition minerals, such as cobalt, nickel, lithium, copper and rare earths, which are distributed across many of the world’s Indigenous territories. Image by Asurnipal via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0). Environmental…This article was originally published on Mongabay
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