The transition to renewable energy in Australia represents a significant opportunity for First Nations communities to benefit from developments on their land.

In partnership with the First Nations Clean Energy Network and Indigenous Land and Sea Corporation, the authors conducted research exploring this opportunity, with a specific focus on the barriers preventing First Nations from achieving these benefits and what different groups of actors could do to help overcome these barriers.

In this paper we present the findings from a series of semi-structured interviews with Traditional Owners, First Nations groups, renewable energy developers and industry representatives, legal experts and other academics.

We identified two groups of barriers – overarching barriers including ongoing disadvantage and a lack of funding and resourcing for First Nations groups, and barriers specific to renewable energy developments such as the absence of Indigenous free, prior and informed consent in project approval processes and unclear, non-uniform legislative frameworks.

To overcome these barriers, we recommend strategies for different actors. For example, governments could implement Indigenous free, prior and informed consent in regulatory regimes and the renewable energy industry could establish cultural education and training programs for company staff.

Authors: Katie Quail, Donna Green, Ciaran O’Faircheallaigh, Large-scale renewable energy developments on the Indigenous Estate: How can participation benefit Australia's First Nations peoples?, Energy Research & Social Science, Volume 123, 2025, 104044, ISSN 2214-6296

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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 

It is an exciting time in the energy sector with new technologies, ways to decarbonise, and innovations to make the day-to-day lives of many Australians easier – with abundant reliable, clean energy on the horizon. 

Australian law recognises that First Nations people have rights and interests in the land and sea under their traditional laws and customs - that they are Traditional Owners. As highlighted in this factsheet by AIATSIS, any engagement processes needs to be based on the principles of Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) that recognise the critical decision making role of Traditional Owners. 

Read the factsheet

Free Prior and Informed Consent is a specific right that pertains to Indigenous Peoples and is recognised in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP).

This excellent FPIC manual was developed by the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation for people, organisations, companies and institutions wanting to incorporate FPIC into project design and implementation.

Read the FPIC manual