UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told the roundtable meeting that justice must be ensured in the process of moving towards new energy sources and this is a major challenge.
He urged the delegates gathered in the discussion to consider the Commission’s analysis of important energy minerals.
The panel was formed last year during the COP28 climate conference in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, with participation from governments, international organizations, industry and civil society.
Aims to develop shared and voluntary policies to enable mineral extraction to proceed with guidelines for equitable and sustainable management.
The UN chief said the revolution in renewable energy sources is accelerating and last year, for the first time, investment in renewables and the grid exceeded spending on fossil fuels.
Demand for minerals is expected to increase during the energy transition: governments have set targets to triple renewable energy capacity by 2030 and phase out fossil fuel use.
“This is a huge opportunity for developing countries rich in these resources: to achieve prosperity, eradicate poverty and pursue sustainable development. But, it doesn’t happen often. We often see, driven by greed, the mistakes of the past are repeated, because of which only the poor are crushed.”
Secretary-General Guterres warns that the race for resources increases the exploitation of local communities, violates their rights and harms the environment.
Emphasis on justice and equality
He noted that it was against the backdrop of this harsh reality and at the request of developing countries that the Panel on Mineral Extraction was constituted.
Its report presents seven voluntary principles and five recommendations for integrating justice and equity in critical minerals supply chains.
The UN chief expressed confidence that it will strengthen communities, establish accountability and achieve equitable economic progress with clean energy.
According to him, developing countries will take this process forward with the cooperation of tribal peoples, local communities, youth, civil society, industry and business organizations.
In parallel, efforts will be made to implement transparency and accountability frameworks throughout the supply chain to ensure responsible production while respecting human rights and the environment.
The Secretary-General made it clear that with increasing demand for critical minerals, the necessary steps must be taken to navigate this transition with justice and fairness.
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