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COP30: For a community-led energy transition

Within the framework of COP30 held in Belém do Pará (Brazil), members and allies of the Coalition for Human Rights in Development advanced a series of collective demands to Public Development Banks (PDBs) to support a community-led energy transition that respects rights and meets the needs of communities in the Global South.*

Within the framework of COP30 held in Belém do Pará (Brazil), members and allies of the Coalition for Human Rights in Development advanced a series of collective demands to Public Development Banks (PDBs) to support a community-led energy transition that respects rights and meets the needs of communities in the Global South.

Public development banks, through their climate commitments and financial support, are positioning themselves as key actors in the energy transition, especially in the Global South. Between January 2022 and June 2025, public development banks invested a total of 245.5 billion U.S. dollars in energy projects worldwide, mainly in the form of loans and through the private sector.

The largest share of investments went to the solar energy sector (30%), followed by transmission lines (24%) and wind energy (22%). However, research shows that PDBs continue to invest money in fossil fuels, often through financial intermediaries. In addition, PDBs have largely supported false solutions in the form of large-scale renewable energy projects, technological solutions, extractive activities, and market-based approaches.

In this context, in recent years, the Coalition for Human Rights in Development, of which Fundeps is a member, has involved its membership and allies in discussions on a just energy transition and the role of PDBs, with the aim of exposing false solutions and contradictions, while developing demands on what a truly just transition should look like—one centered on the voices and demands of affected communities.

Demands to Public Development Banks

As part of this process, a position paper was developed that contains a series of demands for PDBs to support a community-led energy transition that respects rights and meets the needs of communities in the Global South. The main demands identified were the following:

1. Recognize communities as central actors and protagonists of the energy transition
The rights of communities most affected by climate change—who are already struggling to secure water, food, housing, livelihoods, and cultural survival—must be at the heart of the transition. PDBs must shift their paradigm: moving from viewing communities as passive “beneficiaries,” obstacles, or victims of development, to recognizing them as stakeholders and protagonists of the energy transition. Incorporating this recognition into policies and practices means treating local communities and Indigenous Peoples not as victims to be compensated or hastily displaced, but as co-creators and co-monitors of just energy solutions that put people and the planet first.

2. Prioritize financing for decentralized, small-scale, community-led energy solutions
Across the Global South, local communities are advancing grassroots solutions to mitigate the effects of climate change and generate energy through small-scale projects. These projects, designed through participatory, inclusive, and feminist approaches, can effectively meet the needs of local communities and prevent harm.

3. Accountability in design, monitoring, and protection of rights, based on community needs and priorities
An energy transition can only be just if it considers and remedies its potential negative impacts, particularly on rural, local, and Indigenous communities. To achieve this, it is essential to enable community participation in the project design and assessment phases, apply robust safeguards, and ensure remedy and justice when rights are violated.

The position paper also highlights key elements of a community-driven just energy transition in the Global South: centered on human rights and community self-determination; on the protection of land, livelihoods, and food security; and driven by people and gender justice.

A call to action

These collective demands offer a roadmap toward an energy transition that leaves no one behind and is grounded in local realities, a feminist and intersectional perspective, global solidarity, and justice.
Technological change alone is not enough to make the energy transition just: a truly just transition requires centering communities in development financing decisions. We need a transformative paradigm shift that puts people and the planet first in both policy and practice.

To break away from the exploitative patterns of the fossil-fuel-based development model, all actors involved in shaping and financing the transition (states, international and multilateral organizations, public development banks, private actors, etc.) must prioritize bottom-up, community-led solutions that uphold human rights, protect ecosystems, and ensure equitable access to energy.

The full version of the Position Paper can be accessed through the following link.

Note prepared based on the publication of the Coalition for Human Rights in Development, available at: https://rightsindevelopment.org/es/news/documento-posicion-jet/

More information

Contact
Gonzalo Roza, gon.roza@fundeps.org