Recognised at Last: COP30 Flags Risks of Extracting Transition Minerals

Technical discussions on the just transition under the Just Transition Work Programme (JTWP) are entering the home stretch this week at COP30. There is already a glimmer of hope that these critical negotiations could yield a historic outcome.  

In a novel decision in the UN climate talks, a draft negotiating text from the just transitions debate recognised the role of energy transition minerals in the just transition, highlighting the environmental and social risks associated with the supply chains of these minerals, notably extraction and production.  

Called green minerals or critical minerals, they include copper, cobalt, nickel, and lithium, and are used in the manufacture of components in clean energy technologies, including batteries, solar panels, and wind turbines.  

In effect, negotiators have recognised the connection between just transition pathways and the integrity of all ecosystems and the protection of biodiversity. 

For years now, African rights groups and civil society organisations have been demanding people and planet-focused industrial policies that promote green industrialisation in developing countries. This is provided for in the Just Transition Work Programme (JTWP).  

The JTWP is an initiative of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) that aims to promote pathways that ensure that the goals of the Paris Agreement are achieved justly and equitably. These pathways cover several dimensions, including social and environmental protection for communities and the environment. 

“For the first time, minerals are on the main stage of COP negotiations – no longer a side show,” said Melissa Marengo, a senior policy officer at the Natural Resource Governance Institute (NRGI).  

The global race towards renewables has set off an increase in the extraction of critical minerals. While creating opportunities for local communities and improving livelihoods and quality of life, this industry has also come with serious environmental pressures.  

In Africa and the Global South, mining causes significant environmental damage, including large-scale deforestation, loss of biodiversity, and severe water and soil contamination from popllutants such as heavy metals and acid runoff.  

What Do the Numbers Say? 

The numbers are staggering. Between 2001 and 2020, mining and related activities wiped out nearly 1.4 million hectares of trees worldwide, with rainforests and protected areas in Latin America experiencing the heaviest loss.  

This WWF report reveals that than 80 percent of direct mining-related deforestation takes place in just 10 countries. In mining regions globally, improper waste management and toxic chemical runoff are responsible for more than 40 percent of freshwater pollution. 

Meanwhile, blasting during mining could weaken the geological stability of an area, increasing the risk of landslides and even setting off tremors.  

Large-scale mining is one of the main causes of air pollution through clouds of dust and greenhouse gases. Over time, these impacts could lead to biodiversity loss and habitat fragmentation, with impacts worse in areas where mining is illegal and regulations are weak. 

Why the UNSG wants Indigenous Peoples Protected 

The recommendations by the United Nations Secretary-General’s Panel on Critical Energy Transition Minerals report are referred to in the text, notably the emphasis on circularity, improved Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) outcomes throughout the entire value chain of transition minerals.  

At the same time, the UNSG’s panel recommended stronger human rights protection for all stakeholders, particularly Indigenous Peoples, who have lived in harmony with nature across generations.  

Promoting Participatory Approaches 

Thankfully, the draft text of the Just Transition Work Programme (JTWP) recognises the importance of ‘‘participatory approaches’’ in the production process of these minerals, where host communities are actively involved in the decision-making process. After all, it’s their environment that is damaged when mining corporations extract and truck away the precious stones.  

To this end, the draft recognises: ‘‘The importance of the rights of Indigenous Peoples, including their right to free, prior and informed consent ( FPIC), and the importance of ensuring that all just transition pathways respect, promote and fulfil the distinct, collective and internationally recognised rights of Indigenous Peoples.’’ 

Blot in the text… 

But there’s a blot in the draft text. It does acknowledge the role of ‘‘transitional fuels’’ in achieving just transitions that ‘‘align with different national priorities and circumstances.’’ 

In recent years, the language of transition fuels has been divisive, with African civil society adamant that natural gas, for instance, is not a transition fuel. The controversy stems from arguments that transition fuels are a necessary bridge to decarbonise, on the one hand. On the other hand, those opposed to them contend that they delay the urgent shift to renewable forms of energy. 

Critics point out that natural gas is carbon-heavy, observing that its continued use risks delaying the development of infrastructure that allows countries and economies to transition to clean fuels.  

There’s now a consensus that renewable technologies are far cheaper than fossil fuels and easily deployable, including remote settings and underserved areas. ‘‘This can positively contribute to advancing just energy transitions, including in terms of energy security and health and environmental co-benefits from cleaner energy systems and reduced air pollution,’’ read the draft text.   

For decades, Africans have felt undercut in the production of critical minerals, an industry historically shrouded in mystery and suspect deals that favour foreign mining corporations at the expense of local communities and their surroundings. 

At COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan, last year, the United Nations announced that critical minerals would be a key plank of the just transition discussions at COP30, where JTWP negotiations will continue this week, with the final text expected in the coming days.  

Developing countries wanted COP30 to acknowledge the environmental and social impacts and opportunities of mining critical minerals. Could Belem mark the beginning of change for local communities, the custodians of nature, and critical minerals?