Policies that protect the human rights of vulnerable groups living in areas where renewable energy projects are being developed do not exist in Southeast Asia, according to an analysis by a nonprofit that tracks the human rights exposure of businesses.
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As the region races to scale up green energy, there are no renewables companies that shield human rights or environmental defenders from threats, violence, surveillance or physical or legal attacks, found the report by United Kingdom-based Business & Human Rights Resource Centre (BHRRC), released on 23 September.
Filipino energy companies surveyed such as ACEN and Solar Philippines do not have any policy that covers the protection of human rights despite the Southeast Asian nation consistently ranking as Asia’s most dangerous country for environmental defenders.
BHRRC’s analysis comes at the same time that the Philippines goverment has been promoting renewables through mechanisms that mandate electricity suppliers to source an agreed portion of their energy supply from eligible clean resources and a green energy auction programme, which are all meant to encourage more investments in renewable energy.
In Vietnam, six prominent climate activists have been arrested and imprisoned in the past two years, against the backdrop of the country’s Just Energy Transition Partnership, a US$15 billion package from wealthy nations to help speed its transition away from coal, along with a new mandate to allow large businesses to buy renewable electricity directly from power generators.
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Efforts of the region to transition to renewable energy are being undermined by the serious human rights risks associated with these operations, which have not been prioritised by renewable energy companies.
Pochoy Labog, Southeast Asia researcher, Business & Human Rights Resource Centre
The nine other renewable energy companies in the region that were part of the analysis likewise lack such safeguards.
ACEN and Thailand’s B Grimm, which runs two of the region’s largest solar farms, both located in Vietnam, were the only firms in the survey to make outright commitments to respect Indigenous peoples’ (IP) rights in particular.
But the results are still troubling for locals who are defending territories where more than half of the world’s transition minerals are found, reads the study.
“These findings are problematic considering how significantly the renewable expansion has affected IPs, including a trend of criminalisation and attacks against human rights defenders who speak against clean energy projects that infringe upon their rights,” said Pochoy Labog, BHRRC’s Southeast Asia researcher.
Out of the 12 companies surveyed, ACEN, B Grimm and Singapore-based Vena Energy were the only ones which claimed to have processes in place that allow for regular engagement with legitimate representatives of communities affected by their activities on human rights issues.
ACEN, which has the biggest portfolio of solar and wind among local listed firms, plans to retire its coal plant in Batangas and replace it with renewables by 2030.
However, on a recent visit to the site, the residents in the surrounding area of the coal plant told Eco-Business that none of them had been consulted about the project.
Vena Energy, which has operations in the Philippines, is facing issues surrounding its wind power project being built in the Masungi Georeserve, which is protected land with an ecosystem that may be harmed from drilling operations. But the firm reiterated that it has complied with government regulations in the pursuit of the project and is open to dialogue with stakeholders.
B Grimm, ACEN, Vena Energy and Bangkok-headquartered Gulf Energy Development have published substantial commitments to respect human rights in their operations, while only two companies, B Grimm and Gulf Energy, proactively identify their human rights risk, and also assess and prioritise these risks.
“Efforts of the region to transition to renewable energy are being undermined by the serious human rights risks associated with these operations, which have not been prioritised by renewable energy companies,” said Labog.
“These companies have not taken the risks seriously enough, with only a few publishing substantial commitments to respect human rights in their operations.”
Clean energy companies faring well in basic worker-related issues
Despite gaps in policy commitments to address human rights risks, Southeast Asian companies appeared generally better prepared to address basic worker-related issues, according to the study.
Vietnam’s Bamboo Capital Group, Gia Lai Electricity Joint Stock Company along with B Grimm, Gulf Energy, ACEN, Vena Energy, Kuala Lumpur-based Solarvest and Vietnam’s Bamboo Capital Group are among the region’s biggest renewable energy firms which have publicly committed to disclose key data regarding their performance on worker health and safety.
They also have grievance policies that enable workers to raise complaints or concerns.
Nevertheless, only B Grimm, Gulf Energy, ACEN, Vena Energy, and Malaysia’ Plus Xnergy and TNB Engineering have policy commitments in place that respect labour rights in general, and only four of them explicitly commit to International Labour Organisation core conventions, highlighting room for improvement.
“Renewable energy companies play a crucial role in the transition to clean energy and must urgently build robust human rights policies to ensure renewable energy deployment in the region does not come at the cost of communities and livelihoods. A just transition is still within reach if companies act now to respect rights and build policies that promote trust with communities and workers,” said Labog.
