A ROADMAP for promoting responsible mining practices has been published by a coalition led by the Church of England Pensions Board because the sector grapples with massive global demand for minerals. The COP30 conference meets in Brazil next week.
A complete of 120 institutions collaborated on the ten-year roadmap for sustainability and responsibility, supporting mines to enhance practices while meeting rising demand for minerals as a part of a transition to wash energy.
The Global Investor Commission on Mining 2030 is chaired by Adam Matthews, the Church of England’s Pensions Board chief responsible-investment manager. He said that the mining sector was critical to meeting the needs of growing economies and supporting the energy transition to net zero. More investment was needed to shape a more environmentally responsible sector.
Many investors don’t spend money on the sector due to sustainability concerns. But Mr Matthews said the sector needed more investment to power global energy and digital transitions. The demand for transition minerals is predicted to treble to 30 million tonnes by 2050, under net-zero scenarios, the International Energy Agency says.
The commission’s report says: “Significant mining expansion will likely be required at the very least over the subsequent 20 years to deliver the transition. However, once extracted, minerals and metals have the potential to stay in continuous circulation to be reused and recycled, which can step by step reduce dependence on primary extraction.”
Members of the commission met the Brazilian President, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, to debate the report’s recommendations last week.
Mr Matthews said: “The market is at an inflection point. We can decide to support a vision of responsible mining that addresses the industry’s systemic challenges, which in turn would enable long-term value generation. Or we are able to allow the digital and clean-energy system of tomorrow to be born of social discord and environmental breaches.
“The commission sets out a compelling and practical vision, involving a partnership of governments, firms, investors, employees and other community stakeholders to level the playing field for a responsible rules-based mining system.
“This vision, driven by the long-term interests of firms and investors, will deliver real, meaningful advantages for local communities in addition to for national economies.”
The commission has set seven goals for the subsequent ten years, including reducing conflicts linked to extraction of minerals, responsible sourcing, stakeholder engagement, and equitable distribution of advantages with communities.
Recommendations include creating an independent International Minerals Agency to observe supply and demand of minerals, and the creation of a Global Centre for Peacebuilding and Business, to be based in South Africa. This would work to be certain that the presence of minerals was a catalyst for economic growth, not a driver of conflict.
The commission is supported by global investors managing or advising $18 trillion of assets, including the Pensions Board, the Swedish National Pension Funds, and Royal London Asset Management, amongst others. The commission can also be supported by the $128-trillion global investor network Principles for Responsible Investment, and has received technical support from the United Nations Environment Programme.
The Pensions Board has led a long-running campaign to enhance standards within the mining sector because the 2019 Brumadinho dam disaster in Brazil, which resulted in 272 deaths and environmental devastation (News, 8 February 2019).
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