Families struggle to pay extraordinary power bills from diesel or gas-fired generation. Electricity disconnections are frequent and cause significant social and economic disruption.

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With climate change, extreme temperatures are on the rise. Food is spoiled without power. Children have schooling disrupted. People cannot store medicines safely, and those with complex health needs suffer.

These are some of the drivers behind the new First Nations Clean Energy Network. We will partner with industry, investors, unions, academics and legal and technical experts to boost the capacity of our people to engage with governments and the renewables industry at a structural level.

In Canada, a similar network has joined with government and industry to support nearly 200 medium-to-large renewable energy projects, offering jobs, training and new revenue streams.

Within Indigenous Canadian communities, smaller clean energy projects are flourishing.

We will do the same, ensuring that clean energy developments and the ongoing management, decommissioning and rehabilitation of lands, are respectful of our place on this continent.

The network has the platform, expertise and experience to form strong and equitable working relationships with the renewables industry.

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At a bare minimum we expect that governments, developers and financiers, when engaging and negotiating with First Nations communities, will act consistently with the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People and Equator Principles.

Our sacred sites should be respected and protected, and we reserve the right to say ‘no’ to destruction.

It’s clear the energy transformation is here and First Nations people are critical to this revolution.

While we are optimistic about the gains to be made by the transformation, this time the benefits must be there for all.