Demand for critical minerals vital to the electric vehicle and renewable energy sectors should be met without causing a "stampede of greed" that exploits local communities and harms those living in poverty, UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres has said.
"We are here to respond to a key challenge — turning the energy transition towards justice," Guterres told the UN Cop 29 climate summit in Baku, Azerbaijan.
Guterres warned that as the energy transition accelerates, it could present more risks than opportunities for many developing countries rich in metals such as copper or lithium unless managed with justice and equity.
"For developing countries rich in resources, [the energy transition] is a huge opportunity to generate prosperity, eliminate poverty and drive sustainable development. But too often this is not the case," he said.
"Too often we see the mistakes of the past repeated in a stampede of greed that crushes the poor," Guterres added. "We see developing countries ground down to the bottom of value chains, as others grow wealthy on their resources."
In response to concerns in developing countries rich in battery minerals, the UN in April established the Panel on Critical Energy Transition Minerals. The panel of governments, international organisations, industry and civil society developed "voluntary principles" for managing value chains for critical energy transition minerals.
The panel's report outlines seven voluntary guiding principles covering environmental and human rights, responsible investment and finance, transparency and anti-corruption measures, and international co-operation.
It also identifies five "actionable recommendations", including establishing an advisory group to accelerate benefit-sharing and economic diversification, developing a mineral traceability framework and creating a fund to address mine closures and other mining legacies.
The UN code has no enforcement mechanisms, and so implementation depends on the participation of industry, governments and civil society.
