Human rights defenders have intensified their calls for a just transition into renewable energy, even as businesses seek counsel on potential areas of violation.
Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) Central Region Coordinator Ruth Getobai, extended a leaf to enterprises and businesses in renewable energy sector to seek counsel on potential areas of risk, to avert heavy losses and unending legal battles.
Getobai noted that businesses were susceptible to legal battles in their pursuit for clean energy sources, emphasizing the need to respect the rights of their workers as well as communities where they work.
“We are training businesses and companies involved in renewable energy on their connection with human rights, drawing their attention to the National Action Plan on Businesses and Human Rights policy framework,” she noted.
Speaking in Nakuru during a one-day workshop to sensitize renewable energy companies and flower farms on the need to adhere to the law, the Commission emphasized the need for a meaningful community engagement and public participation exercises, that were inclusive.
“Businesses have the potential to impact on the rights of communities as they positively contribute to development. Our concern is their understanding of how they could affect human rights.
“We are also placing an emphasis on the need to bring everyone on the decision-making table, including women and any other vulnerable members of the communities; in line with the Sustainable Development Goal’s clarion call, not to leave anyone behind,” added Getobai.
The human rights defender also called on companies to have mechanisms in place to address any grievances that may arise in their operations, with plans to offer remedy.
The UN Guidelines on Businesses and Human Rights require businesses to conduct free and prior informed consent and get the social license to operate, while ensuring that the communities around projects share in the prosperity.
African Regional Director for the Business and Human Rights Resource Centre, Dr Joseph Kibugu, noted the need to capacity built businesses of all cadres, as a way of cushioning them too against unintended losses and costs.
“There are material risks to failure to respect human rights in terms of reputation, damage, legal risks and litigations. These may slow down the renewal energy transition that the country has envisaged, if businesses are interrupted and their licenses withheld by the regulator,” noted Kibugu.
Dr. Kibugu noted that rights to access reliable power supply and green energy was crucial for Africa that was well endowed with geothermal and solar energy as well as wind power.
“The transition to these renewable energy sources demands some transition minerals that are also found here in Africa like Cobalt, Lithium, Graphite among others. Mining of these has traditionally not respected human rights, with cases of workers exploitation and child labour cited as some of the violations that extractive companies engage in.
“We don’t want to transpose this model to the renewable energy, but have the communities benefited largely in harnessing of these energy sources,” noted Kibugu, regretting that pollution and lack of information would be detrimental to human lives.
The International Human Rights lawyer called for access to remedy for those impacted negatively by implementation of the renewable energy projects, suggesting company-based grievance mechanisms that were credible and impartial in cushioning the society from harm.
Kenya boasts of having more than 80 percent of its energy sources as renewable with more companies plugging into production and availing solar and wind power. Nakuru based Geothermal Development Corporation (GDC) and Kenya Electricity Generating Company (KENGEN) produce 949 MW and 1904 MW of green sourced energy.
By Anne Sabuni
