Critical minerals are crucial for helping countries meet climate goals and transition to a prosperous net zero economy, but the current geopolitical dynamics have contributed to stresses within critical minerals value chains. To deal with these challenges, Australia has joined a number of countries to launch the Sustainable Critical Minerals Alliance.
Due to these stresses, many countries are looking to find secure, reliable supplies of these resources and the clean technologies they enable.
As countries around the world work to secure access to these resources, it is equally important that the path to reducing greenhouse gas emissions to net zero is built with a human rights-based approach, a commitment to sustainability and the highest environmental, social and governance (ESG) standards.
Australia has abundant reserves of critical minerals, including rare earths, which are essential inputs to clean technologies such as solar panels, wind turbines, and electric vehicle batteries.
Minister for Resources and Northern Australia, Madeleine King, said mining and processing of critical minerals are crucial to help the world lower emissions, and it was important those minerals are developed to high ESG standards.
“Australia is strongly committed to sustainability and the highest environmental and social governance standards, and we believe the development of new low-emissions technologies provides a great opportunity to promote those ESG standards across the world.”
Australia announced at the COP15 that it, alongside other countries including Canada, France, Germany, Japan, the UK and the US, are launching the Sustainable Critical Minerals Alliance to drive the global uptake of environmentally sustainable and socially inclusive and responsible mining, processing and recycling practices, and responsible critical minerals supply chains.
The Alliance aligns with the G7 2030 Nature Compact commitment to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030 through a globally wide system change to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) with a focus on sustainable and inclusive development.
Through the Sustainable Critical Minerals Alliance, members will voluntarily work toward developing sustainable and inclusive mining practices and sourcing critical minerals that:
- Employ a nature-positive approach by encouraging industry practices or collaborating with industry on practices that prevent biodiversity loss, protect species at risk, support nature protection and minimise pollution, including driving toward net positive benefits to the natural environment
- Support local and Indigenous communities by respecting the respective rights and interests of local and Indigenous communities through engagement; promoting safe working conditions and responsible labour standards, diverse and inclusive workforces, supporting safe living conditions; and including members of Indigenous and local communities in economic benefits from mining that affects their well-being
- Help fight climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions and working toward achieving net zero emissions by no later than 2050, and promoting mining, processing and recycling processes that advance sustainability through ESG standards
- Restore ecosystems by adopting requirements for reclamation and remediation to close and return mine sites to their natural state where feasible and holding responsible parties accountable for environmental harm
- Build a circular economy by promoting material stewardship, including byproducts and recovery from waste, keeping products in use longer as well as accelerating the reuse and recycling of critical minerals, which may reduce the number of new mines required to supply the minerals needed
- Foster ethical corporate practices through sustainability reporting to investors and the public and by implementing due diligence in mineral supply chains as laid down in relevant internationally accepted guidelines
Members of the Alliance welcome and encourage collaboration with Indigenous communities, non-governmental organisations, industry and other non-state actors, as well as actions taken domestically and globally to advance the objectives of the Sustainable Critical Minerals Alliance and call on others to join.
The International Mines Ministers Summit — taking place in Toronto on 6 March 2023 at the margins of the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada’s Annual Convention — will provide an opportunity to dialogue on the commitment and continue further collaboration on sustainable critical minerals.
“Australia congratulates Canada for taking the initiative, and we are proud to become a foundation member of the Sustainable Critical Minerals Coalition,” Ms King said.
