- A new report from the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre (BHRRC) finds that more than half of the 95 energy transition-related lawsuits recorded globally since 2009 took place in Latin America and the Caribbean.
- Almost half of all cases were filed by Indigenous peoples; 70% of cases globally and 76% of those filed in Latin America and the Caribbean concerned mining for transition minerals.
- The report urges governments, companies and investors to conduct robust human and environmental due diligence across the entire renewable energy value chain and to adopt a human rights-centered approach throughout project life cycles.
A new report by the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre (BHRRC) finds that more than half of the 95 legal cases initiated around the world since 2009 by those impacted by the energy transition were documented in Latin America and the Caribbean (53%). Indigenous peoples filed almost half of all cases recorded worldwide (47%).
“People affected by transition minerals mining projects or renewable energy projects are increasingly resorting to courts to make sure that those projects respect their rights,” Elodie Aba, senior legal researcher at the BHRRC and lead author of the report, told Mongabay over a video call. “Most of the time, litigation is going to be the last resort for them. But when there’s no other choice, we can see that people are more aware of their rights now and [are] actually using the tools at their disposal for that.”
The researchers analyzed the BHRRC’s just transition litigation tool to assess the status of human rights lawsuits against transition mineral mining firms and renewable energy companies. Mining for minerals used in the global energy transition, such as bauxite, copper and lithium, was the sector with the most lawsuits, representing more than 70% of all cases analyzed. In Latin America and the Caribbean, 76% of cases involved transitional mineral mining.
Across the world, 71% of transition mineral mining cases focused on the projects’ environmental impacts, while more than 60% included water access issues or water pollution. Research has shown that mining processes, such as ore extraction and mineral processing, require significant amounts of water and can result in severe water contamination if not managed appropriately.
In southern Ecuador, Indigenous and local communities took legal action against the state for authorizing the Loma Larga copper mine that will largely impact the protected Quimsacocha páramo, which they depend on for water, agriculture and livestock production. Community members told Mongabay the project not only impacts water access, but also violates their right to free, prior and informed consultation. The provincial court ruled in favor of the community, but according to residents, the protective measures granted to them have not yet been implemented.
Gloria Velez, a community member from Girón, a canton in Azuay province neighboring Quimsacocha, has spent years defending the páramos under threat from Loma Larga. She told Mongabay over a phone call that the lagoons and water sources of Quimsacocha are sacred to her community. “It’s somewhere we [women] go to recharge ourselves with energy, strength and restore our connection with nature and our lands,” Velez said. “As community members, we feel there are many impacts of mining that are not openly talked about or consulted with us.”
Ecuador’s Ministry for Energy and Mines and Dundee Precious Metals Inc., the company behind the Loma Larga copper mine, did not respond to Mongabay’s requests for comment by the time of publication.
While transition minerals mining had the most lawsuits, the other 29% of cases analyzed related to the renewable energy sector, such as wind, hydroelectric and solar. Almost 80% of these cases alleged inadequate consultation of rightsholders and 36% raised the issue of access to water. In Latin America and the Caribbean, 24% of cases involved claims related to renewable energy projects.
Avoiding risks to projects and communities
In 2021, the Ecuadorian courts suspended a hydroelectric project in the Piatúa River, a tributary of the Amazon River in the region of Pastaza. As the Ministry of Energy and Mines and the company behind the project, Genefran S.A., did not comply with the requirement of prior consultation with the Kichwa people, who consider the river sacred, the courts withdrew authorization for the use and exploitation of the water flow and revoked the environmental license issued by the ministry to the company.
Ecuador’s Ministry of Energy and Mines and Genefran S.A. did not respond to Mongabay’s requests for comment about this case by the time of publication.
“What [our findings] mean as well is, if there’s a rise in affected communities taking the claims to court, then there’s also a legal risk for companies,” Aba said. “All of this has a cost. In addition to the legal risk, it can also slow down the project.
“The mining sector has a long legacy of serious impacts on the environment and Indigenous and frontline community rights, and given the growing surge in demand for transition minerals and the strength of Indigenous and community grassroots movements, it’s not surprising to see high numbers of lawsuits,” said Emily Greenspan, associate director for natural resource justice at Oxfam America. “If governments and companies want to ensure sustainable supply chains for transition minerals, they need to get better at engaging early and regularly with local communities. Communities must have the opportunity to influence whether and how mining projects move forward and to share in the benefits from these projects.”
If companies talk to affected communities from the start and throughout the project, there’s a way to avoid these risks, Aba said. “If you don’t engage them from the start, there’s a risk that these communities are going to resist your project and you can be faced with litigation, which doesn’t help your project in any way.”
Emily Iona Stewart, the head of policy and EU relations for Global Witness’ transition minerals campaign, who was not involved in this report, told Mongabay over email that “these figures tell us a lot about the nature of our energy transition, and the ways in which it is systematically harming Indigenous Peoples and frontline communities.”
Stewart said mining operations “must frontload meaningful community consultation and ensure free, prior, and informed consent for Indigenous Peoples, as well as being willing to change course when community opposition, environmental harm or social damage becomes clear.”
The BHRRC report urges governments, companies and investors to conduct robust human and environmental due diligence across the entire renewable energy value chain and to adopt a human rights-centered approach throughout project life cycles.
“Companies really need to have in mind that they should think about shared prosperity, fair negotiation and duty of care for human rights and environmental rights of people that will be directly affected,” Aba said. “It is about really undertaking robust human rights and environmental due diligence along the full value chain, but also making sure that they really engage, what we call meaningful consultation, with rightsholders.”
Citations:
Lin, Z., Wang, P., Tang, L., Wang, Z., McKechnie, J., Li, B., Chen, W., & Chan, F. K. S. (2025). Public water risk concerns triggered by energy-transition-mineral mining. Resources, Environment and Sustainability, 19: 100196. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resenv.2025.100196
Banner image: Copper mining in Cusco, Peru. Image by Miguel Gutiérrez / Cooperacción.
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