Indigenous Peoples’ rights at the heart of a just transition

Indigenous Peoples’ rights at the heart of a just transition

The Securing Indigenous Peoples’ Rights in the Green Economy (SIRGE) Coalition and the International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs (IWGIA) published their briefing Just Transition: Indigenous Peoples’ Perspectives, Knowledge, and Lived Experiences (September 2026), drawing on the Indigenous Peoples’ Summit on Just Transition held in Geneva in October 2024.

Human Levels take:

• The transition runs on minerals. And with more than half of energy transition mineral projects examined in the study located on or near Indigenous Peoples’ lands, the question of how it unfolds, and who gets to shape it, is becoming increasingly important.
• The pressure to move quickly is bringing new tensions into focus. As demand grows across renewable energy, electrification and AI, governments are increasingly treating access to minerals as a matter of economic and national security. But what happens to meaningful participation and free, prior and informed consent (FPIC) when securing supply and accelerating approvals become priorities?
• What is at stake goes well beyond land access. For Indigenous Peoples, lands and waters are tied to livelihoods, food systems, cultural and spiritual practices and future generations. With mining and renewable energy projects expanding alongside continued fossil fuel extraction, the Principles point to cumulative impacts on territories, rights and ways of life.
• The briefing makes clear that consultation alone does not capture Indigenous Peoples’ right to self-determination. It places their authority to make decisions through their own institutions at the centre of a just transition. For practitioners, this raises practical questions: who shapes engagement processes, whether decisions are still open when consultation takes place, and how a decision to give, condition or withhold consent influences project outcomes.
• For companies and investors, the Principles call for transparency and accountability, protection of Indigenous defenders, remedy for past and ongoing harms and support for Indigenous-led solutions. That makes it worth understanding where activities and business relationships intersect with Indigenous territories, and where leverage sits. The way forward is as much about timing as risk identification: bringing Indigenous Peoples’ rights and governance systems into due diligence, project planning and financing from the outset gives their priorities a chance to shape the transition, rather than being considered once projects are underway.

Some key takeaways:

• The race for transition minerals is bringing Indigenous Peoples’ rights into focus: Growing demand for minerals across renewable energy, electrification, AI and other technologies is increasing pressure on Indigenous Peoples’ lands and territories. Of 5,097 energy transition mineral projects examined worldwide, 54% were located on or near Indigenous Peoples’ lands, many in areas already facing water, food security or conflict risks. In 2025, the Business & Human Rights Centre recorded 329 allegations of abuse linked to transition mineral mining, 17% of which concerned Indigenous Peoples’ rights, including free, prior and informed consent (FPIC). At the same time, geopolitical competition and efforts to accelerate mineral development are raising questions about Indigenous Peoples’ involvement in decisions affecting their territories. Against this backdrop, the Indigenous Peoples’ Principles and Protocols for Just Transition, developed by representatives from seven socio-cultural regions at the 2024 Geneva Summit, set out a shared vision grounded in self-determination, Indigenous governance and the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP).
  

• For Indigenous Peoples, the impacts of the transition go far beyond access to land: Expanding mining and renewable energy projects, alongside continued fossil fuel extraction, create a ‘double impact’, with consequences including displacement, water contamination and loss of access to territories, often without FPIC. Land and water are closely connected to Indigenous Peoples’ livelihoods, food systems, cultural and spiritual practices, and responsibilities to future generations. At the heart of the Principles is therefore not only participation, but self-determination: the right to define development priorities and make decisions through Indigenous institutions. Violence, criminalisation and reprisals against Indigenous Peoples and defenders add another dimension, alongside disproportionate impacts on women, youth, elders and persons with disabilities. The Principles accordingly place protection of defenders, respect for Indigenous governance, and restoration and reparations for past and ongoing harms at the centre of a just transition.
  

• Putting these Principles into practice starts with how projects and investments are designed and governed: Companies, investors and financial institutions are called on to respect Indigenous Peoples’ collective rights and decision-making authority throughout project lifecycles and supply chains. This includes integrating FPIC from project design through implementation and monitoring, rather than treating it as a one-off consultation exercise. Other priorities include comprehensive human rights, environmental, economic, social and cultural impact assessments incorporating Indigenous knowledge; due diligence across mineral supply chains, from extraction to end use and waste; and greater transparency around sourcing, financing and investment returns. Protecting Indigenous defenders, addressing damage to lands, waters and cultural heritage, and providing direct, sustained finance for Indigenous-led solutions are also central. Together, these measures offer a way to embed Indigenous Peoples’ rights and priorities in decisions about transition projects, supply chains and investments.