GI-ESCR 258d ago

In this intervention, Magdalena Rochi Monagas, Programme Officer on Climate and Environmental Justice at the Global Initiative for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, takes part in the launch of Special Rapporteur Pedro Arrojo’s new report on the Water–Energy Nexus. She reflects on how the global energy transition must not come at the expense of human rights; particularly the right to water. Drawing from GI-ESCR’s work with partner organisations, Magdalena highlights how lithium extraction for renewable energy technologies is severely depleting freshwater sources in the Atacama and Antofagasta regions, affecting Indigenous women and their communities. She stresses the need for a rights-based approach to renewable energy, where States guarantee human rights across the entire energy life cycle and ensure that clean energy remains affordable, accessible, sustainable and reliable for all. The right to clean and sustainable energy must be recognised as a human right under international law; a step that could reshape how energy is governed, ensuring it serves people and the planet, not profit.