Amazon-Africa Nexus: Scaling Critical Minerals for Inclusive Green Transitions (COP30)

The new geopolitical landscape, driven by U.S.-China decoupling and by strategic policies such as the EU's Critical Raw Materials Act and the G7 Minerals Security Partnership, has intensified the global race for critical minerals. This shift risks cementing a 'Green Colonialism,' where the Global North secures supply chain diversification while the resource-rich Global South remains locked into the low-value 'port-to-pit' model. However, the combined mineral wealth of the Amazon and Africa, which holds a commanding position in reserves such as lithium (Latin America, 60 percent of global reserves) and cobalt (DRC, 76 percent of global supply), presents a unique opportunity to break this cycle.

This session will convene experts whose voices are important to elevate critical mineral governance as a central pillar of climate justice and green industrialization within the Just Transition Work Programme at COP30. The conversation will define what "green value chains" actually mean in practice, establishing concrete benchmarks including environmental standards, social justice criteria, and governance requirements.