Four Directions Fund (4DF), the world's first global Indigenous clean energy fund, announced on Tuesday on the main stage of Global Citizen NOW: Perth a commitment to work in partnership with the First Nations Clean Energy Network to advance up to five Indigenous-led renewable energy projects across Australia.

The commitment puts First Nations communities "at the forefront of the clean energy transition", the Fund said.

4DF aims to secure at least 10 per cent Indigenous ownership of renewable energy projects on Indigenous lands, creating lasting economic opportunities, local jobs and benefits for communities.

By 2029, 4DF's ambition is to enable one gigawatt of renewable energy projects to ready-to-build status across Aotearoa-New Zealand, the United States and Australia, with a longer-term goal of two gigawatts, potentially enough to power half a million homes once operational.

Four Directions Fund co-founder, Kiri Allan, said "clean power is only part of the story".

"Indigenous communities must hold a genuine ownership stake in the energy future we're building. Because the energy transition must be clean, it must also be inclusive, equitable and Indigenous-led," she said.

The commitment was made at Global Citizen NOW: Perth, an action summit held ahead of COP31, to "mobilise commitments that expand reliable, affordable clean electricity to up to four million homes and deliver at least 2.5 gigawatts of new renewable capacity".

"On Indigenous lands. By Indigenous peoples. For our collective future," the Fund said.

Four Directions Fund funds "the early work that turns good sites on Indigenous land into ready-to-build clean energy projects, with Indigenous ownership built in through three pathways: grant value converting to equity, lease payments converting to equity, and a retained stake at sale", noting that free, prior and informed consent is "non-negotiable".

Founded by Ms Allan, Wahleah Johns, Anahera Nin and Billy Parish, 4DF works across Aotearoa-New Zealand, the United States and Australia.