Clean energy must extend beyond megawatts and minerals

Mail & Guardian

2 days ago

The energy transition itself carries human rights risks. If clean energy is built on compromised rights, it will not be sustainable in the long term. Photo: Waldo Swiegers/Bloomberg/Getty Images
As Africa enters a critical decade of energy development and industrialisation, the demand for reliable power, sustainable infrastructure and clean energy sources is reshaping the investment landscape. At the same time, the imperative to transition responsibly — without infringing on the rights of people — is more urgent than ever.
Business and Human Rights (BHR) offers a framework for managing this tension. Rooted in the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, it sets out how businesses should respect human rights throughout their operations and supply chains and how states must protect those rights through regulation, enforcement and access to remedy.
For energy stakeholders — governments, investors, developers and people — BHR is no longer a peripheral concern. It is a core driver of responsible growth, risk management and legitimacy in a rapidly evolving global and African energy ecosystem.
BHR is anchored in three foundational pillars of the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights:
The state duty to protect human rights through policies, regulation and enforcement;
The corporate responsibility to respect human rights by, among other things, conducting human rights due diligence; and
Access to remedy for individuals and communities affected by business-related harm.
While once viewed as a voluntary commitment, these principles are increasingly being entrenched in binding legal frameworks. Recent instruments such as the EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive, Germany's Supply Chain Act, and France's Duty of Vigilance Law impose legal obligations on companies (including private enterprises) to identify, prevent and mitigate human rights and environmental risks across global value chains — and create liability for failing to do so.
Energy projects — whether related to oil, gas, renewables or critical mineral extraction — have a high human rights risk profile. Common risks include:
Displacement of communities through land acquisition or infrastructure expansion;
Adverse impacts on indigenous peoples' cultural rights;
Inadequate stakeholder engagement and lack of free, prior and informed consent;
Labour rights violations in construction and mineral supply chains;
Environmental degradation affecting water, health and livelihoods; and
The use of excessive security forces or militarisation of project zones.
In an age of rising stakeholder activism, environmental, social, and governance litigation and reputational exposure, energy companies that fail to integrate BHR into their business models risk project delays, financing constraints, legal liability and community opposition. Conversely, companies that lead on BHR create resilience, de-risk investments and foster enduring partnerships with governments and communities.
Africa is poised to become one of the most dynamic frontiers for energy investment globally. The continent's population is growing rapidly, with urbanisation and industrialisation driving exponential energy demand. At the same time, Africa is richly endowed with renewable resources and critical minerals that are essential to the global clean energy transition.
Energy investment opportunities include:
Utility-scale solar, wind and hydro projects powering urban growth;
Off-grid and mini-grid solutions bringing electricity to underserved rural areas;
Cross-border energy infrastructure that links regional power pools and boosts energy security;
Hydrogen, green ammonia and energy storage ventures attracting global partnerships; and
Local beneficiation and value addition of critical minerals such as cobalt, lithium and graphite.
Countries such as South Africa, Kenya, Namibia, Egypt and the Democratic Republic of the Congo are already hubs of activity. Projects such as South Africa's Renewable Energy Independent Power Procurement Programme, Kenya's Lake Turkana Wind Power Project and Namibia's ambitions in green hydrogen are reshaping the narrative. However, several of these projects have encountered friction regarding land use, community engagement and benefit sharing.
African energy development often intersects with vulnerable communities, informal land tenure, historical marginalisation and weak governance environments. Failing to address these dynamics invites risk; integrating BHR (the duty to respect human rights as distinct from state obligations) offers a pathway to do better. It can help companies build and maintain a social licence to operate; secure funding from development finance institutions and ethical lenders that mandate human rights due diligence; prevent litigation, protests and reputational harm and align with host government development goals and Africa's Agenda 2063.
Agenda 2063 seeks to position Africa as a global powerhouse, one committed to inclusive and sustainable development. This mirrors the core language and aims of BHR.
For African states, embedding BHR into national energy policy enhances investor confidence and future-proofs infrastructure development. It also empowers governments to regulate more effectively and ensure that energy development is not only fast — but fair.
While Africa is on the cusp of major energy and infrastructure development, recent legal developments in the Global North offer cautionary insights:
Shell vs Okpabi
(UK): The UK Supreme Court confirmed that parent companies can be held liable for human rights harms caused by foreign subsidiaries. Although the case arose from alleged environmental damage in the Niger Delta, the precedent may apply well beyond that context.
TotalEnergies climate litigation (France): NGOs sued the oil major under France's Duty of Vigilance Law, which creates binding obligations on entities (including parent companies) to identify, prevent, mitigate and redress human rights and environmental impacts resulting from their own activities, as well as those companies under their control, subcontractors and suppliers.
Fosen Wind Farm case (Norway): The Norwegian Supreme Court ruled that land expropriation and licensing for certain wind farms violated the rights of Sámi indigenous reindeer herders under international law, highlighting the importance of free, prior and informed consent, even in the context of renewable energy development.
These cases reinforce that the energy transition itself carries human rights risks. Whether in the Global North or South, renewable does not automatically mean responsible. If clean energy is built on compromised rights, it will not be sustainable in the long term.
By embedding Business and Human Rights into the DNA of energy projects, the continent can avoid replicating extractive models of the past and build an energy future that is clean, inclusive and equitable.
Pooja Dela and Dylan Cron are partners at Webber Wentzel.