South Africa is on the path to a just transition. (Getty Images)
A UN-convened committee of experts has issued a set of recommendations to governments to ensure that the opportunities of the global energy transition are pursued in a fair, equitable and sustainable manner.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres established the Panel on Minerals Critical to the Energy Transition to develop guidelines to serve as “guardrails for the energy transition.” The Panel is co-chaired by South African Ambassador Nozipho Joyce Mjakatho Diseko and European Commission Director-General for Energy Ditte Jull Jørgensen.
In a statement, Guterres said the Commission's report on minerals critical to the energy transition came at a crucial time: “We established the Commission in response to a call from developing countries, as there are signs that the energy transition is reproducing and widening the inequalities of the past, relegating developing countries to the bottom of value chains and watching as others enrich themselves at the expense of their people and endangering the environment.”
“The report identifies how to ensure that the renewable energy revolution is based on justice and equity, promotes sustainable development, respects people, protects the environment, and brings prosperity to resource-rich developing countries,” Guterres added.
The Commission's recommendations include the establishment of a high-level expert advisory group within the UN to facilitate multi-stakeholder policy dialogue and coordination on economic issues in mineral value chains, as well as a global traceability, transparency and accountability framework.
Other recommendations include creating a fund to address legacy issues associated with abandoned, unowned and neglected mines, and empowering artisanal and small-scale miners to be “agents of change”.
Limiting global warming to 1.5°C to avoid the worst impacts of climate change depends on sufficient, reliable and affordable supplies of critical energy transition minerals such as copper, lithium, nickel, cobalt and rare earth elements, which are essential components of clean energy technologies, from wind turbines and solar panels to electric vehicles.
and battery storage.
At the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28) in Dubai in 2023, governments agreed to triple renewable energy deployment and double energy efficiency by 2030. The International Energy Agency predicts that demand for critical energy transition minerals needed to make this happen will triple by 2030 and quadruple by 2040.
Changes of this magnitude bring great opportunities, but also great challenges, the commission's report said.
“Mining, large and small, is too often associated with human rights violations, environmental destruction and conflict, dispossessing indigenous peoples' lands and resources and upending local peoples' lives,” the report said.
Responsible companies working to reform their industries still face an “unlevel playing field” because there are insufficient incentives for irresponsible actors to meet acceptable standards.
For countries with critical energy transition minerals needed for these technologies,
The opportunities are great for the world, including developing countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Pacific.
The report noted that this challenge can only be addressed in principle by governments, business, civil society and the United Nations working together to properly manage mineral value chains, uphold the rule of law in a non-discriminatory manner, respect national sovereignty, invest in genuine multilateralism and peacebuilding, and ensure that universal human rights are protected.
It issues recommendations on fairness, transparency, investment, sustainability and human rights across the entire value chain.
“Now is a time when cooperation is paramount for countries to effectively address multiple crises,” Mujakat-Diseko said.
“With climate change at the heart of these crises, there is an urgent need for us to work together, based on the shared values that have bound nations together to date, with a clear understanding that we will sink or rise together, with a common understanding that human rights, justice, equity and shared benefits will guide us towards shared global prosperity.”
Secretary-General Guterres called on the Co-Chairs and the Commission to consult and share the report and its recommendations with Member States and other stakeholders ahead of COP29 later this year.
