Legislative Frameworks: The Key to an Energy Transition Focused on Human Rights

Clear frameworks for community benefit sharing in the mining and renewable energy sectors are essential.

However, Manson Gwanyanya, the researcher and representative for South and Anglophone Africa at the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre, told the African Climate Conversations podcast that implementing these existing frameworks is key to delivering a shared prosperity for the communities whose land and resources are crucial for the energy transition in Africa.".

Demand for critical minerals is set to grow by three and a half times by 2030 as the world transitions from fossil fuels to renewable energy in order to reduce global carbon dioxide emissions to net zero by 2050. The African continent is home to massive transition mineral resource bases and enormous renewable energy potential, given its vast tracts of open land and favourable solar and wind conditions. But how well prepared is the continent for the critical mineral and renewable investment boom?