After two weeks of intense negotiations, world leaders at a United Nations meeting on the environment adopted a decision on Friday on critical minerals and metals that could encourage better management as the transition to renewable energy powers rising demand.
The seventh United Nations Environment Assembly, or UNEA-7, in Nairobi, Kenya, passed the resolution — which was introduced by Colombia — setting the stage for member states to adopt more environmentally sound means of managing minerals and metals such as lithium, cobalt, copper, and nickel. Also among the 11 resolutions and three decisions adopted at the gathering was the first-ever resolution to address the environmental impacts of artificial intelligence, such as energy, water usage, and land use pressures.
The critical minerals resolution — which is nonbinding and was adopted by consensus — also calls for low- and middle-income countries’ equitable participation in international discussions around sustainable management of minerals and metals; resource recovery from mining waste and byproducts through regenerative approaches that reduce waste; and strengthening technological and financial capabilities in their management. Some 186 countries agreed to the text, though the United States did not vote on it.