Advancing Actions from the UN Panel on Critical Energy Transition Minerals in Africa and Latin America

COP29 has marked a step change in climate action rooted in equity and justice by elevating the place of transition minerals in the climate agenda. Since the UN Secretary-General convened a panel of experts to provide guidance and recommendations last April, a swell of actions have followed:

• The panel report launched in September calling for human rights to be at the center of mineral value chains and for mining activity to be respectful of planetary boundaries, putting forward five actionable recommendations
• Advancing the panel’s recommendations, the Colombian government announced a new initiative calling for an international agreement on traceability.
• The G20 Rio de Janeiro Leaders’ Declaration noted the panel’s report and called for “sustainable and responsible supply chains for energy transitions, including for critical minerals.”

During COP29’s first week, the UN Secretary-General held a roundtable where heads of state and ministers endorsed the panel's recommendations and actions, calling for the work to be taken forward. At that meeting, Brazil announced that transition minerals will be a key issue on the COP30 agenda.

The UN climate process can play a strong supporting role in minerals governance because these are essential to the goals of tripling renewable energy capacity and doubling energy efficiency by 2030 as the world transitions away from fossil fuels. But how can the UN panel’s principles and recommendations advance equity and justice in mineral producing countries in the Global South? What are the priority actions at the regional and national levels? Who should be responsible for putting them into practice?

At this press briefing experts from Africa, Latin America and Indigenous communities discussed how the panel’s report can advance equity and justice in countries of the Global South, and how the COP29 outcomes can support mineral governance for a just transition. 

Speakers

• Denis Gyeyir, Africa Senior Program Officer, NRGI
• Kuda Manjonjo, Just Transition Associate, PowerShift Africa 
• Bryan Bixcul, Global Coordinator, SIRGE Coalition
• Camila Mercure, Climate Policy Officer, FARN

For background, see related content below.