-
20th General Conference
- Industrial Innovation Forum
- Driving a just hydrogen transition: Key enablers for clean hydrogen uptake and de-risking of investments
- Making gender equality a lived reality in industry
- Accelerating the green transition: Critical minerals, metals production and a fair future for all
- Industrialization in middle-income countries: A driving force for sustainable development
- Building resilient supply chains for the energy transition
- Industrial policy for a fair globalization: Insights from the Industrial Development Report 2024
- AIM Global: Inclusive AI – bridging the digital divide in industry and manufacturing
Overview
The urgent push for sustainable global development hinges on the rapid shift to cleaner energy solutions reliant on critical minerals. While addressing climate change requires these minerals, mining's environmental and social impacts challenge sustainability principles. Balancing innovation in mining practices and post-mining stages is essential to meet future mineral needs while ensuring environmental stewardship and social equity. At the FMF 2023 Ministerial Roundtable, hosted by Saudi Arabia, UNIDO's Director General advocated for a global alliance to support sustainable critical minerals and responsible mining for an equitable energy transition, with endorsement from Saudi Arabia and Member States. UNIDO can play a pivotal role in fostering innovation partnerships and facilitating a safer, environmentally friendly mineral value chain, spanning upstream adoption of responsible green standards to downstream processing, material recovery, and re-use. This high-level panel discussion delves into responsible mining and downstream development, aiming to achieve a fair future centered around the mining sector. It explores the balance between economic imperatives and sustainability goals, emphasizing innovation in mining practices. Additionally, the discussion covers the adaptation of global standards to local contexts, the role of artisanal and small-scale mining, and the necessary policy shifts, offering insights into challenges, opportunities, and collective responsibility.
Discussion Points
- How can countries scale-up production of critical minerals to meet demand for the material-intensive energy transition with affordable and sustainable green interventions?
- How can we forge a synergy between economic growth from mining and the overarching sustainability and environmental objectives of the green transition? How can we create a win-win approach for the varied stakeholders of mineral value chains?
Objective
Calling for a global alliance to catalyze responsible mining and downstream development, aiming to achieve a fair future cantered around the mining sector.
Related Documents
Speakers
H.E. Mr. Bandar Alkhorayef, Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources, Saudi Arabia
H.E. Mr. Alkhorayef has been the Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources since August 2019. He has more than 25 years of experience in leading industrial, commercial and investment positions. He has served as a member of the Board of Directors at AMACO in Ukraine, a company active in the field of agricultural equipment sales, and the Arabian Production and Marketing Lubricants Company in partnership with British oil giant BP.
H.E. Ms. Rose Pola Pricemou, Minister of Planning and International Cooperation, Guinea
H.E. Pricemou assumed her current role as the Minister of Planning and International Cooperation in November 2022. She Brings more than 19 years of experience to the Ministry. She is an expert in the field of Information Technologies with both academic and hands-on experience. She was also Minister of Information and Communication between October 2021 and November 2022. H.E. is the recipient of the Afro-Caribbean Excellence Award in Quebec in 2016.
Mr. Aziz Nazar, Deputy Minister of Industry and New Technologies, Tajikistan
H.E. Mr. Nazar has been the Deputy Minister of Industry and New Technologies since March 2023. Prior to this role, he was the Head of the Department of External Economic Cooperation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) during the period of 2021 – 2023. Furthermore, he was Head of European Union Cooperation Division, Ministry of Foreign Affairs for the period of 2019 – 2020. Mr. Nazar was also second and First Secretary at the Embassy of Tajikistan in Japan 2016 – 2019.
Professor Rachid Yazami, Scientist, inventor, as well as Founding Director & Chief Technical Officer at KVI Holdings
Professor Rachid Yazami is a renowned scientist and engineer best known as the co-inventor of the lithium-ion battery. He is the winner of the 2014 Draper Prize of the National academy of Engineering, which is considered the Nobel Prize in Engineering. Professor Yazami is also a recipient of many awards, including, an award by the King of Morocco in 2014 and is the 2016’ Bastille Day recipient of the French Legion of Honour, the Arab Scientist of the year in Kuwait, among others.