Improving environmental and social practices in the mining sector is essential in the transition to renewable energy

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Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1 In 2022 the IPCC reported that ‘[r]isks are projected for the near-term (2021–2040), the mid (2041–2060) and long term (2081–2100), at different global warming levels and for pathways that overshoot 1.5°C global warming level for multiple decades’. The report continues,

There is a rapidly narrowing window of opportunity to enable climate resilient development. Multiple climate resilient development pathways are still possible by which communities, the private sector, governments, nations and the world can pursue climate resilient development – each involving and resulting from different societal choices influenced by different contexts and opportunities and constraints on system transitions. Climate resilient development pathways are progressively constrained by every increment of warming, in particular beyond 1.5°C, social and economic inequalities, the balance between adaptation and mitigation varying by national, regional and local circumstances and geographies, according to capabilities including resources, vulnerability, culture and values, past development choices leading to past emissions and future warming scenarios, bounding the climate resilient development pathways remaining, and the ways in which development trajectories are shaped by equity, and social and climate justice (very high confidence)

IPCC, Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability: Summary for Policymakers, Working Group II Contribution to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, at 10 and 31 (14 August 2022) <https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg2/downloads/report/IPCC_AR6_WGII_SummaryForPolicymakers.pdf>

2 The Paris Agreement requires each party to ‘prepare, communicate, and maintain successive nationally determined contributions’ and ‘pursue domestic mitigation measures, with the aim of achieving the objectives of such contributions’. Paris Agreement to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change at art 4(2), 12 December 2015. TIAS No 16-1104 (14 August 2022) <https://unfccc.int/process/conferences/pastconferences/paris-climate-change-conference-november-2015/paris-agreement>. Access NDCs communicated by Parties to the Paris Agreement at United Nations Climate Change, Nationally Determined Contributions Registry (14 August 2022) <https://unfccc.int/NDCREG>

3 The ‘circular economy’ is one that rejects the approach of production, use and disposal and instead favours design of products for high performance and durability and promoting materials recovery, recycling and re-purposing, creating a regenerative cycle and eliminating unnecessary waste. See ICMM, The ‘Circular Economy’ in Mining and Metals (14 August 2022) <https://miningwithprinciples.com/the-circular-economy-in-mining-and-metals/>

4 See Elsa Dominish, Sven Teske and Nick Florin, Responsible Minerals Sourcing for Renewable Energy (Institute for Sustainable Futures 2019) (14 August 2022) <https://earthworks.org/publications/responsible-minerals-sourcing-for-renewable-energy/> stating ‘[r]ecycling can significantly reduce primary demand, especially for batteries, however it cannot meet all demand’; thus, new mining is likely to meet demand in the short term until recycled metals are more widely available; International Energy Agency, World Energy Outlook Special Report: The Role of Critical Minerals in Clean Energy Transitions (14 August 2022) <https://www.iea.org/reports/the-role-of-critical-minerals-in-clean-energy-transitions>, noting that the world is currently on track for a doubling of overall mineral requirements for clean energy technologies by 2040 and a ‘concerted effort’ to reach the Paris Agreement goal of stabilising the climate at ‘well below 2°C global temperature rise’ would require quadrupling minerals needed for clean energy technologies by 2040 – hitting net zero globally by 2050 would require six times more mineral inputs in 2040 than today; World Bank, Minerals for Climate Action – The Mineral Intensity of the Clean Energy Transition (14 August 2022) <https://pubdocs.worldbank.org/en/961711588875536384/Minerals-for-Climate-Action-The-Mineral-Intensity-of-the-Clean-Energy-Transition>, finding that the production of minerals such as graphite, lithium and cobalt will increase by nearly 500% by 2050 to meet demands for low-carbon energy technologies

5 Institute for Sustainable Futures, Responsible Minerals Sourcing for Renewable Energy (14 August 2022) <https://41p14t2a856b1gs8ii2wv4k4-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/assets/uploads/2019/04/MCEC_UTS_Report_lowres-1.pdf>

6 See generally United Nations Development Programme, World Economic Forum, Columbia Center on Sustainable Investments, and the Sustainable Development Solutions Network, Mapping Mining to the Sustainable Development Goals (8 November 2016) <https://www.undp.org/sites/g/files/zskgke326/files/publications/Mapping_Mining_SDGs_An_Atlas_Executive_Summary_FINAL.pdf>; see also IRMA, IRMA and the UN Sustainable Development Goals https://www.undp.org/sites/g/files/zskgke326/files/publications/Mapping_Mining_SDGs_An_Atlas_Executive_Summary_FINAL.pdf; and Sustainable Development Strategies Group (SDG), Advancing Mining Company Contributions to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): A Comparative Analysis of the SDGs and the Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance Standard for Responsible Mining (14 August 2022) <https://responsiblemining.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/20200611-IRMA-SDGs-Report.pdf>

7 Earthworks, Just Minerals: Safeguarding Protections for Community Rights, Sacred Places, and Public Lands from the Unfounded Push for Mining Expansion: Why a Responsible Renewable Energy Transition Hinges on Mining Law Reform (14 August 2022) <https://earthworks.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Just-Minerals-FINAL.pdf>

8 IRMA is not applicable to energy materials like thermal coal and uranium, nor is it used to assess the unique risks of deep-sea mining

9 Earthworks, Declaration on Mining and the Energy Transition for COP26 (14 August 2022) <https://earthworks.org/campaigns/making-clean-energy-clean/declaration-on-mining-and-the-energy-transition-for-cop26/>

10 Ibid

11 Ibid

12 The White House, Building Resilient Supply Chains, Revitalizing American Manufacturing, and Fostering Broad-Based Growth (14 August 2022) <https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/100-day-supply-chain-review-report.pdf>

13 US Department of State, Inaugural Meeting of the Clean Energy Resources Advisory Committee (18 March 2022) <https://www.state.gov/inaugural-meeting-of-the-clean-energy-resources-advisory-committee/>

14 European Parliament, European Parliament Resolution of 24 November 2021 on a European Strategy for Critical Raw Materials (2021/2011(INI)) (14 August 2022) <https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/TA-9-2021-0468_EN.html>

15 Ibid

16 Learn more at IRMA, Mining Engagement with IRMA Update (17 June 2022) <https://responsiblemining.net/2022/06/17/mining-engagement-with-irma-update/>; and IRMA, Mines Under Assessment (14 August 2022) <https://responsiblemining.net/what-we-do/certification/mines-under-assessment/>

17 IRMA Engagement Map <https://map.responsiblemining.net/>

18 IRMA, Become a Member <https://responsiblemining.net/what-you-can-do/become-a-member/>