Towards a socially and environmentally just energy transition

Both ENDS works to place the interests of communities at the heart of a just energy transition. Together with our partners – around 500 NGOs and CSOs around the world - we strive to prevent the burden of the energy transition from falling once again on communities in Asia, Africa and Latin America. Instead we make sure that they, too, can enjoy the advantages of clean, affordable energy solutions.

Moving away from fossil fuels

First of all, the energy transition requires a continued urgent shift from fossil fuels, notably by those countries and actors who contributed most to climate change, towards renewable energy sources. Not only by consumers, but first and foremost by governments and the financial sector, who should phase out their support for the fossil fuel sector as soon as possible.

Important steps have been made, such as the Glasgow Declaration where many countries promised to no longer support the fossil fuel sector with public finance. Both ENDS and partners played a key role in stopping Dutch export credit support for fossil fuels. We have also achieved meaningful successes in convincing other investors, like pension funds, to divest from fossil fuels. Yet, more is needed. 

It is also important to divest responsibly, for example by ensuring the restoration of polluted ecosystems and meaningful and fair compensation of impacted communities. For example, in Nigeria Both ENDS and partners advocate for a responsible exit of Shell from the Niger Delta, which is at severe risk of being left polluted and its communities without proper compensation.

Resources for a just energy transition: the dangers of extractivist economies

The demand for minerals and metals needed for low-carbon technologies like solar panels, wind turbines, and electric vehicle batteries is increasing rapidly. There is a grave risk that this will replicate past ecological injustices. Instead of radically reducing material and energy consumption, a new era of extractivism – of minerals like lithium, cobalt and copper – is already having severe impacts on ecosystems, water resources, biodiversity, and the rights of Indigenous Peoples, local communities and workers. It is mainly countries in the Global South that supply these minerals, while countries in the Global North add value and consume the end product. 

Both ENDS collaborates with Global South partners to expose these risks and advocate for policies that protect communities’ interests. We closely follow policy development in the Netherlands, at EU level and internationally and advocate for structural improvement. In cases harm has been done, we collaborate with grassroots groups and communities to seek justice. We work towards restoring the damage done, significant compensation and stimulate healing processes. For example, in Brazil we work with the communities affected by the mining tragedies in Mariana and Brumadinho to hold the mining companies accountable whilst at the same time raising awareness among investors about the risks for human rights and the environment of these companies. 

Addressing underlying trade and investments systems that hinder a just energy transition

A just energy transition cannot be achieved without transforming the global trade and investment systems that shape the pace of this transition and determine its beneficiaries. Today, these systems continue to prioritise corporate profits over people and the planet, reinforcing inequalities and obstructing climate action. One major victory in challenging these structures was the withdrawal of many countries from the Energy Charter Treaty, a treaty that allowed fossil fuel corporations to sue governments for taking climate action. Both ENDS and our partners played a key role in this achievement, demonstrating the power of collective advocacy.

To advance a trade and investment framework that supports, rather than hinders, climate justice, we organised the Civil Society Forum on Investment Policies, Climate, and Sustainable Development Goals in Entebbe, Uganda, in 2024. Together with 40+ partners, we explored pathways towards investment policies that prioritise human rights, environmental sustainability, and economic justice. The forum culminated in the Entebbe Declaration, which affirms that “trade and investment agreements must advance human rights, gender, climate and environmental justice, and sustainable economic and industrial development, instead of hindering a just transition and perpetuating systems of exploitation and inequality rooted in unbalanced economic models and profit maximisation.”

At Both ENDS, we remain committed to dismantling unjust trade and investment structures and advocating for policies that genuinely serve communities at the forefront of the energy transition.

Local communities should lead the just energy transition

Local communities, Indigenous Peoples, women, and youth must be at the centre of a just energy transition. As those most affected by the climate crisis, they develop locally driven solutions and ensure new energy projects do not replicate past injustices.

Both ENDS supports these groups in securing political and financial backing for community-led renewable energy initiatives. We advocate for greater access for these groups to funding sources like the Green Climate Fund or bilateral donors to scale up gender-just climate solutions.

A great example comes from Uganda, where - together with our local partners - we are striving towards a sustainable energy strategy for the country that starts from the needs and wishes of local communities. Huge investments in hydropower there have shown that this is a false solution of which the population does not profit at all. And whilst Uganda is now seeking to monetize it’s oil reserves, again local communities are left behind. So instead of fossil and hydropower energy, Uganda needs an energy strategy that respects people and planet and it needs international investors such as development banks, pension funds and energy companies to invest in sustainable energy projects that start with the needs of local communities, like off-grid solar energy.