In response to the growing demand for critical minerals for the energy transition, Secretary-General António Guterres is leveraging the convening power of the United Nations to bring together a diverse group of governments and other stakeholders in the value chain of these minerals. Their goal is to develop a set of common, voluntary global principles to safeguard environmental and social standards and integrate justice into the energy transition.
A recently established Critical Minerals for Energy Transition Group, co-chaired by South African Ambassador Nozipho Joyce Mxakato-Diseko and European Commission’s Director-General for Energy, Ditte Juul Jørgensen, will address issues related to equity, transparency, investment, sustainability, and human rights.
230 groups of Indigenous Peoples, unions, and organisations dedicated to climate, environmental justice, and human rights have come together to draft a series of recommendations for this UN Critical Minerals Group, advocating for a fair global energy system that benefits everyone.
Read the civil society recommendations here:
https://pwyp.org/es/recomendaciones-de-la-sociedad-civil-para-el-panel-del-sgonu-sobre-minerales-criticos-para-la-transicion-energetica/
We urge the group to carefully consider and integrate these recommendations into their draft. Civil society actors eagerly anticipate the group’s outcomes and support a robust set of applicable principles leading to a just energy transition for all.
What Are the Ingredients for a Just Energy Transition?
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Equitable Demand Reduction: Countries in the Global North overconsume resources. The first step is addressing this issue and achieving a more equitable distribution of resources.
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Protect People and the Planet: Prevent and mitigate the impacts generated by the transition. Ensure the participation of affected communities and the rights of Indigenous Peoples.
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Support Equitable Development and Fiscal Policies: Support the development of resource-rich countries and ensure that benefits reach the populace.
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Promote Fair International Trade and Investment: Cancel the debt of low-income countries and find mutually beneficial agreements between the Global North and South.
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Ensure Firm UN Action on Transition Minerals: Governments must rely on voluntary standards and principles to create binding regulatory frameworks that respect human rights, Indigenous Peoples, and the environment.
What do you think is most important to consider for a global energy transition? Contributions from organised civil society, universities, think tanks, and others can still be made to the Group through this link until July 30:
https://www.un.org/en/climatechange/panel-on-critical-minerals-submissions
What is the Link Between Critical Minerals for the Energy Transition and the Fair Electronics Campaign?
For years, the Fair Electronics campaign has been highlighting the social and environmental impacts of the value chains of our electronic devices, with a particular focus on communication technologies.
Among these impacts are the damages caused by the extraction of the raw materials needed to manufacture our devices, such as gold, silver, coltan, and lithium. A smartphone can contain more than 60 elements from the periodic table, requiring intensive material extraction from the Earth.
With the growing digitalisation of life globally and the need to move away from fossil fuels towards renewable energy sources, the demand for these metals and minerals is increasing exponentially, along with the associated risks and impacts of their extraction. Green or low-emission technologies are also intensive in their use of these materials.
The promotion of private electric vehicles, for instance, is driving demand much more than turbines for electricity generation or solar panels for solar energy. This is why it is so important to review how this energy transition is being planned; under what values and principles.
We envision a future where electronics and technology, in general, serve people, improving the quality of life in harmony with the planet’s biophysical limits and ecosystems. This means not using more resources than we have and making responsible use of everything we manufacture throughout its entire lifecycle.
