Justice In The Energy Transition: Recommendations To Ensure Public Participation On Decision-making Processes

In 2023, global investments in renewable energy surpassed investments in fossil fuels: US$659 billion against US$106 billion (IEA, 2023). However, we still do not have a global measure that allows us to know how much land has already been used to generate renewable energy and how much land is projected to be incorporated. This gap led to developments and projects being evaluated only on local scales, disregarding global or regional impacts over food production, agriculture, or resource use, for example. Equally, poses non-negligible challenges regarding the rights of nature and of the social subjects who inhabit the spaces to be explored. Many renewable projects are violating the principles of environmental and climate justice, highlighting how environmental racism guides this process of expansion. Therefore, these projects have suffered continuous criticism and questioning regarding their legitimacy. That is why we state 7 recommendations to ensure that the energy transition will be sustainable and fair.