Remarks delivered by UN Secretary-General António Guterres on
Wednesday, 13 November to the COP29 High-Level Meeting on
Resourcing the Energy Transition with Justice and Equity.
"Excellencies, friends.
Thank you all for joining us today.
We are here to respond to a key global challenge: turning the
energy transition towards justice.
The renewables revolution is powering forward. And critical
minerals are at its core.
Last year – for the first time – the amount invested in
grids and renewables overtook the amount spent on fossil fuels.
Demand for the minerals critical to the transition are expected
to surge – as governments triple global renewables capacity by
2030 – as promised – and phase out fossil fuels.
For developing countries rich in those resources, this is a huge
opportunity: to generate prosperity; eliminate poverty; and drive
sustainable development.
But too often this is not the case.
Too often we see the mistakes of the past repeated in a stampede
of greed that crushes the poor.
We see a rush for resources, with communities exploited, rights
trampled, and environments trashed; developing countries
ground-down to the bottom of value chains, as others grow wealthy
on their resources.
This Panel was established in response to calls from developing
countries for action.
I thank all Panel members for their work. Particularly the
Co-Chairs, Nozipho Joyce Mxakato Diseko and Ditte Juul
Jørgensen.
The report identifies seven voluntary principles and five
actionable recommendations to embed justice and equity across
critical mineral value chains.
These aim to empower communities, create accountability, and
ensure that clean energy drives equitable and resilient growth.
That includes advancing efforts to ensure maximum value is added
in resource-rich developing countries.
The United Nations system is coming together to help implement
the Panel's findings.
We will work with Member States and other stakeholders to
establish the recommended High Level Expert Advisory Group.
This will accelerate action on key economic issues, including
benefit sharing, value addition, and fair trade.
Developing countries will be in the driving seat.
And Indigenous Peoples, local communities, young people, civil
society, industry, and trade unions will be at the table,
alongside governments.
We will also take forward the recommended global traceability,
transparency and accountability framework for the entire critical
mineral value chain.
This will help to drive responsible production, safeguarding
human rights and the environment.
I urge all leaders – in government, industry and civil society –
to join us.
And I look forward to hearing from you today on your plans to
implement the Panel's findings.
As demand for critical energy transition minerals surges, so must
action.
Together, let's turn the transition towards justice and
equity.
Thank you."
