by Rebecca Adamson, founder of First Peoples Worldwide
The global economy is undergoing a rapid transition to low carbon technologies, with annual investment in the energy transition passing $2 trillion in 2024. Lithium, the critical mineral powering electric vehicles and renewable energy storage, sits at the heart of this transformation. But there’s a problem investors are only beginning to understand: 54% of energy transition mineral and mining projects are located on or near Indigenous peoples’ lands, and most portfolios are flying blind to the risk this creates.
Most investors are systematically underestimating the correlated risks that inattentiveness to Indigenous peoples’ rights poses across their “green” or “transition” portfolios. Until recently, there has been little empirical evidence linking a company’s impact on Indigenous Peoples to its financial performance, costs, expense variance, or revenue shortfalls. But today, three Indigenous women on three continents are proving that Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC) isn’t just a moral imperative — it’s a material investment risk. And their leadership is showing investors a path forward.
The energy transition will either repeat the extractive colonialism of the past or rewrite it. Did you know – 476 million Indigenous people steward half the world’s land, including 85% of lithium reserves and 75% of manganese deposits essential for batteries.
A helpful guide has just been published- The Sustainable Indigenous Finance: Navigating the Energy Transition which provides a three-tier framework – Institutional Level: Portfolio Level as well as a Company and Project Level. Read more about all of this in Rebecca’s full article here- https://greenmoney.com/indigenous-women-on-the-frontlines-redefining-investment-risk-in-the-energy-transition
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