Harnessing Critical Energy Transition Minerals for Sustainable Development in Latin American and the Caribbean

Date: 26 October 2023

Time: 14:05- 15:15 EST

Location: Contadora III, Marriott Panama Hotel, Panama City

This is an official Track 1 Event to the Latin America and the Caribbean Climate Week 2023. Live streaming link forthcoming. 

The growing demand for critical energy transition minerals will attract significant global mining investment in the next couple of decades. By value, this market could top $400 billion, exceeding the value of all the coal extracted in 2020. Latin American countries with large reserves of critical energy transition minerals will have a 20-to-30-year window to tap into these investment flows to transform their economies, create new green jobs, secure sustainable local development and create safeguards to minimize negative environmental and social impacts. A new mineral development model could be planned in the LAC region, but this will require long-term strategies that foster value addition and benefit sharing, build resilience, trust, and economic diversification, and create sustainable green jobs.

The region hosts a significant share of the global production of certain critical energy transition minerals like lithium and copper and has significant untapped reserves of minerals like copper, lithium, graphite, nickel, manganese, and rare earth elements. For example, the production of critical minerals in Latin America accounts for 40% of the global copper production, and 35% of lithium production. However, there is still need for larger the production of these minerals and need for increased investments in the region, which is reflected in the share of the allocated exploration budget for nickel and rare earth elements amounting to 7 % of the global budget.

Harnessing the potential of critical energy transition minerals in such a biodiverse, resource-rich and dynamic region will require putting the necessary social and environmental safeguards in place, creating inclusive spaces for multistakeholder engagement (including of indigenous communities) and promoting strategic cooperation to add value, diversify, and attract high-quality investment for infrastructure, technology transfer, innovation while creating durable productive, trade and regulatory capacities.

This event will aim to: 

• Discuss trends, best practices, opportunities, and challenges for the LAC region from the expected increase in global demand for energy transition mineral 
• Discuss strategies to effectively address the environmental and social impacts of mining.     
• Showcase the role that the region can play in clean technology value chains and how they can strengthen that position.
• Explore opportunities for regional and international collaboration.