The Human Rights Commitments of Private Fusion Energy Companies

Abstract

Although the fusion energy sector is at a nascent stage, the private fusion energy market has grown. There are currently 38 private fusion energy companies around the world aiming to commercialize fusion energy technologies in early 2030s and 2040s. Given the capability of fusion energy in transforming today’s energy paradigm and the global character of the market, it is important to analyze how these companies are interacting with international human rights standards. Therefore, this work investigates the involvement of the private fusion energy sector with two voluntary international initiatives in particular: the UN Global Compact and the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGP). This study attempts to answer two research questions: (i) Are private fusion energy companies participating in the UN Global Compact? (ii) How are private fusion energy companies publicly implementing the UNGP? Content analysis of secondary data collected from the UN Global Compact, Fusion Industry Association, ITER and companies’ official websites as well as published reports is adopted. In summary, this work finds that private fusion energy companies are neither participants nor signatories of the UN Global Compact. Their observance of the UNGP is also very poor. This study contributes to the field by highlighting this gap which the private fusion energy companies need to consider and take measures towards, in order to create a salutary human rights sector.