CIVICUS discusses human rights challenges in transitions to renewable energy with Ella Skybenko, senior researcher and representative for Eastern Europe and Central Asia at the Business and Human Rights Resource Centre (BHRRC), a civil society organisation (CSO) that promotes corporate accountability, transparency and human rights.
Amid growing use of renewable energy in response to climate change, a recent BHRRC study has highlighted how the transition in Eastern Europe and Central Asia is marred by human rights violations and environmental abuses, primarily linked to mineral extraction. BHRRC has documented 270 allegations of abuses across multiple projects, with workers lacking basic human rights protections and social safeguards. Civil society has also raised concerns about the systematic exclusion of affected communities, insufficient transparency and increasing threats to environmental activists. Civil society is calling for binding regulations, stronger human rights due diligence requirements and inclusive consultation processes.
