UNEP boss urges attention for energy transition minerals
Published:Thursday | January 11, 2024 | 12:06 AM
HEAD OF the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Inger Andersen, has encouraged global players to prioritise “responsible extraction and sustainable and circular use” of energy transition minerals on which clean energy technologies run.
These minerals, such as copper and lithium, are considered essential components in, for example, wind turbines and electricity networks, as well as electric vehicles.
“I ask industry to work towards coherent standards and frameworks for responsible mining, developed in a multi-stakeholder setting and with credible verification mechanisms. This includes economic and social safeguards to manage health risks, promote gender and social justice, and protect the human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment,” she said, addressing the Future Minerals Forum in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, this week.
“And I ask companies to ensure that they are buying responsibly sourced minerals, and to start thinking hard about how to design their products for circularity. Both industry players and companies such as electric vehicle manufacturers can gain a market advantage by positioning themselves as suppliers or users of responsibly sourced metals and minerals. The minerals stock exchange established by Saudi Arabia can help by creating a space in which clean energy actors will have to purchase,” she added.
The gains of these efforts, she predicted, will be well worth it.
“If we do all of this, we can ensure a lasting energy transition that slows climate change, reduces air pollution, protects nature, and allows developing nations to follow a peaceful path of growth and wealth creation that benefits all their people,” she noted.
LONG-TERM STRATEGIES
According to Andersen, the scale of the mineral requirements to enable the world to realise the emissions goal of the Paris Agreement, towards a secure climate future, supports this.
“The world is intensifying the energy transition, as clearly signalled by COP28’s call to move away from fossil fuels. To stay below two degrees Celsius by 2050, we will need over three billion tonnes of energy transition minerals and metals to deploy wind, solar, energy storage, and more. This is a huge opportunity for developing countries with these metals and minerals to invest in sustainable development,” she explained.
COP28 is the international global climate talks held in Dubai in December.
To help the world get there, she insisted, requires long-term strategies that not only promote trust and benefit sharing, but also economic diversification.
“Crucially, we need to ensure that products are designed for repair, remanufacturing, recovery and recycling. Around 50 million tonnes of e-waste are generated each year, with less than 20 per cent recycled. UN research has shown that up to seven per cent of the world’s gold may be in this e-waste,” Andersen noted.
“Urban mining, as it is known, could reduce pressure on the environment by recovering these materials. Reduce pressure on people and communities who live and work under conditions incompatible with human dignity. Protect the rights and land of Indigenous Peoples. And ensure that these minerals can be used and reused far into the future,” Andersen added.