A global call for equity in mineral value chains at COP30

To all States Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

Excellencies, “The critical minerals that power the clean energy revolution are often found in countries that have long been exploited. And today, we see history repeating. Communities mistreated. Rights trampled. Environments trashed. Nations stuck at the bottom of value chains – while others reap rewards. And extractive models digging deeper holes of inequality and harm. This must end.” António Guterres, United Nations Secretary General, A Moment of Opportunity, Special Address, 22 July 2025.

Our collective ability to deliver the Paris Agreement depends on achieving  a just energy transition. And yet, the impact of exponential extraction of the minerals underpinning the transition to renewable energy remains a major blind spot in international climate negotiations. As COP30 approaches, we urge Parties to recognise human rights, environmental protection and equity in mineral value chains as central pillars of climate action.

Demand for minerals such as lithium, copper, cobalt and rare earth elements is rapidly increasing to power a zero-carbon global energy system. But the current model of extraction, processing, trade and consumption threatens to undermine the very goals the Paris Agreement seeks to achieve.

Without a drastic shift, the transition will exacerbate and entrench unjust practices and repeat the exploitative patterns of the past: dispossessing Indigenous Peoples of their land rights, marginalising local communities, causing disastrous environmental impacts, and locking developing countries in port-to-pit models that prevent them from meeting their acute development needs and limit energy access. All the while developed countries continue to drive demand for raw materials at the expense of planetary boundaries.

At the recent Fourth Dialogue under the Just Transition Work Programme in Addis Ababa, in September 2025, we heard multiple calls for equitable benefit-sharing, local value addition and better social and environmental protections. Noteworthily, a few days later, and for the first time at an African Climate Summit, heads of state explicitly recognised the need for just mineral supply chains. The moment is ripe for Parties to end the UNFCCC’s silence on transition minerals and demonstrate political will to connect mineral governance with the just transitions essential for effective climate action. 

To that end, we call on Parties to reflect the following in COP30 negotiated outcomes: :

1.  Recognise the urgency and relevance of strengthened energy transition mineral governance to Paris Agreement implementation.
2.  Decide to establish the Belem Action Mechanism (BAM) for a Global Just Transition to support coordination and accelerate Just Transition pathways, notably in resource-rich countries.
3.  Welcome the principles and recommendations outlined in the report of the UN Secretary-General’s Panel on Critical Energy Transition Minerals.
4.  Call on all Parties to contribute to inclusive multilateral action to strengthen transition minerals governance under United Nations auspices, including through strategies to improve trade justice and reduce mineral demand equitably, with full participation of Indigenous Peoples, civil society, producing countries, academia, workers, women, youth and experts from all regions.
5.  Urge Parties to strengthen national-level governance – including by implementing transparency, anti-corruption measures, protecting the environment, human rights and Indigenous Peoples’ rights, and developing inclusive, green industrialisation strategies that promote benefit sharing and value addition in producer countries and communities, and clean energy access for all.

“Resourcing the energy transition requires a new paradigm rooted in equity and justice”, said the UN Secretary-General Panel on Critical Energy Transition Minerals. COP30 offers a historic opportunity to begin delivering the transformative change we need.

Sincerely,

Signatory organisations: