Place-based approaches to renewable energy transitions tailor solutions to specific social, cultural, economic and ecological contexts inherent to particular localities.

Drawing on transformative energy justice frameworks and approaches, we argue that place-based framings and interpretations of impacts of community renewable energy projects provide the means to centre Indigenous worldviews, observations and experiences of justice associated with these projects.

This co-created study draws on interviews with knowledge holders in 14 First Nations across the Province of British Columbia (BC), Canada.

Interview participants shared experiences and observations on both the process (community engagement) and outcome (impacts and benefits) dimensions of 36 operational and planned renewable energy projects, pointing to a rich diversity of social, political, material, economic, ecological and relational impacts.

Across a wide range of project sizes and technologies, the findings indicate that deep community engagement and the collective decisions for allocation of revenues mediate the positive and transformative impacts experienced by the community.

Taken collectively, these findings show that First Nations approaches to developing projects are place-based, ensuring a wide range of impacts to the community that can collectively contribute to transformative change.

In the broader context of systematic neglect of social, environmental and justice-oriented values in public policy making, and amidst widespread failure of ‘decide-announce-defend’ approaches to achieving social acceptance for renewable energy projects, this study demonstrates what distinguishes place-based approaches in practice, and how they deliver transformative outcomes for First Nations.

Policy, project and resource allocation decisions should reflect the diverse impacts and transformative outcomes of renewable energy projects in First Nations contexts.

We conclude that embedding place-based approaches in institutional arrangements, policy and project design is critical to providing economic opportunities to First Nations without discrimination under the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People, alongside meeting BC’s power needs and decarbonisation goals.

Authors: Christina E Hoicka, Anna Berka, Sara Chitsaz, Kayla Klym, Adam Regier and Megan Macdonald, Impacts and place-based approaches to transformative energy justice for First Nations, 17 February 2026, IOP Publishing Ltd, Environmental Research: Energy, Volume 3, Number 1

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Indigenous communities across Canada continue to maintain significant influence on the long-term trajectory of that nation's clean energy transition.

Whether it is merchant transmission lines in Ontario or new large-scale hydroelectric generation in British Columbia, communities are adopting their own financing approaches to support Indigenous financial inclusion.

Some of these strategies are long-running, while others demonstrate novelty.

All approaches aim to develop financial and energy sovereignty.

In this co-produced paper (jointly prepared by Indigenous and non-Indigenous practitioners and academics), we synthesise select locally-rooted structures already in use – including many leveraged through extended experiences in both the energy transition generally and the national or community-based Indigenous economic development & energy and infrastructure units specifically.

We then spotlight national clean technology financing-supportive organisations that can help with maintaining momentum and reaching scale.

To conclude, we offer distinct areas where Indigenous communities and non-Indigenous partners can continue to creatively collaborate at every stage of the energy finance lifecycle – from very early-stage innovation all the way through to later stage refinancing of maturing assets.

The Canada-centric case study presented here may present implications and insights for other countries or territories seeking to empower Indigenous voices in their own energy transition.

Authors: Joel Krupa, Frank Busch, Derek Gladwin, Naoko Ellis, Financing clean technologies within Canada's Indigenous communities: Perspectives on sustainable energy transition from practitioners and academics, Energy, Volume 322, 2025, 134930, ISSN 0360-5442, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2025.134930. (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0360544225005729)

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This study offers insights from a unique case of meso-level collective action by First Nations in British Columbia, Canada, aimed at transformative electricity institutional change.

We collate regulatory and advocacy text to characterise the range of proposed First Nation Power Authority models and their placement along a continuum of conformative to transformative energy justice.

Interviews with knowledge holders from 14 First Nations offer insight into motivations behind transformative change and how it is shaped by historical injustice alongside practical community objectives around energy security, resilience, and community development.

First Nations narratives of electricity transformation are aligned with the United Nations Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous People (UNDRIP) and with goals of self-determination and incorporate relational and regional approaches.

These findings validate theoretical frameworks of transformational energy justice (Avelino et al., 2024; Elmallah et al., 2022).

Much of the groundwork has been laid by the collective and the regulator, while new legislation has opened a window of opportunity to increase Indigenous participation and control in the electricity sector.

Authors: Christina E. Hoicka, Adam Regier, Anna L. Berka, Sara Chitsaz, Kayla Klym, “Stretch and transform” for energy justice: Indigenous advocacy for institutional transformative change of electricity in British Columbia, Canada, Energy Policy, Volume 202, 2025

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Canada is home to around 240 remote communities that rely on diesel fuel to heat and provide electricity to their homes. This system of heating and electricity generation comes with significant social, economic, and environmental costs that Indigenous governments and businesses are working hard to address through clean energy development. For those governments and businesses who seek to transition away from diesel and toward cleaner, locally produced energy, there are a number of barriers to overcome. Key among them are regulatory and legislative roadblocks that make Indigenous leadership in the energy transition especially challenging.

As part of the Pembina Institute’s Rethinking Regulation to Decarbonize Canada series, we examine the regulatory and legislative challenges that remote Indigenous communities face as they seek to reduce diesel use and decarbonize remote microgrids. In particular, we focus on the regulatory systems of four jurisdictions in Canada: British Columbia, the Northwest Territories, Nunavut, and the Yukon.

Authors: He, Emily, Arthur Bledsoe and Fibha Nazim. Decarbonizing Remote Indigenous Communities: Regulatory reform in B.C. and the territories. The Pembina Institute, 2025.

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Community benefit agreements (CBAs) negotiated in Canada are legally binding through contract law and set out obligations for project developers and local communities.

Also referred to as impact and benefit agreements, CBAs are common resource governance tools that are negotiated across the globe between private project developers and local, often Indigenous, communities whose land must be accessed or disturbed for major extractive resource projects.

According to the literature, CBAs have the potential to help facilitate economic and social development of Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities by providing revenue benefits, employment and training opportunities, contracting opportunities for local businesses, new community infrastructure, and impact mitigation measures.

Although CBAs are only legally required in certain regions in northern Canada in accordance with lands claim agreements, CBAs are negotiated for virtually every major extractive resource project developed in Canada and are becoming increasingly common all around the world.

Some attribute the prevalence of CBAs to private developers recognizing the right of communities to free, prior, and informed consent (FPIC) as affirmed by the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) while others attribute the prevalence of CBAs to project developers managing social risk and attempting to satisfy consultation and accommodation requirements to obtain approval.

While this paper's case focus is on the Canadian North, the authors hope that the theoretically-informed study finds resonance with other jurisdictions host to CBAs.

Authors: Cameron Gunton, Eric Werker, Mark A. Moore and Sean Markey, Simon Fraser University, Canada

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Thanks for use of the photo by Jonny Rothwell 

Governance and decision-making that uphold the rights, interests, knowledges, and values of Indigenous peoples and land-connected communities are increasingly recognised as critical components of a just energy transition. Despite the unprecedented inclusion of Indigenous peoples in resource governance, it is unclear how community consultation and consent can effectively support Indigenous-centred decision-making.

This paper, Enabling Indigenous-centred decision-making for a just energy transition? Lessons from community consultation and consent in the circumpolar Arctic (published in 2025), by Julia Loginova, Mia Landauer, Juha Joona, Ranjan Datta and Tanja Joona, variously from universities in Australia, Sweden, Finland and Canada, provides a review of community experiences with consultation and consent across the Arctic and sub-Arctic region which along with other ‘resource geographies’ are increasingly affected by transition minerals mining and renewable energy infrastructure.

Key themes identified in the review include:

1. limitations of state-and company-led community consultation and consent;
2. practices of Indigenous-centred (Indigenous-led, Indigenous-benefiting and Indigenous-informed) decision-making; and
3. barriers to Indigenous-centred decision-making.

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As clean energy becomes an ever-bigger driver of economic development, job creation and net-zero progress globally, First Nations are increasingly front and centre of the transition. 

Significant renewable energy resources will be needed to power Australia’s energy transition, all of which need consent from Traditional Owners.

Incorporating First Nations into the Future Made in Australia Act will finally bring Australia onto a more equal footing with the United States and Canada.

It is crucial to question who has the authority to mandate renewable energy projects and who their beneficiaries are. In the energy field, power has remained, for the most part, in the hands of settler nations institutions and private energy companies. Although renewable energy resources are mostly located on Indigenous traditional territories, not all Indigenous communities benefit from the energy transition. The fact that Indigenous peoples are given only a limited voice or power over the transformation of their ancestral territories puts them in a particularly challenging position regarding their participation in the energy transition. Indeed, defending their interests is complex, due to the vagueness and ambiguity surrounding the question of Indigenous national sovereignty and self-determination in Australia and Canada.

This paper, A just energy transition for Indigenous peoples: From ideal deliberation to fairness in Canada and Australia (published 2024), by Fabienne Rioux-Gobeil and Annick Thomassin from the Australian National University, considers who benefits from energy projects and who bears the consequences.

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Thanks for use of the photo Karsten Würth