Africa urged to leverage its vast mineral resources in negotiations

Africa is being encouraged to leverage its vast mineral resources when negotiating on the Just Transition. This surfaced earlier this week at the African Consultative Forum on Critical Minerals and Just Transition in Boksburg.

The forum brought together stakeholders in the energy sector to discuss the strategic role of Africa’s critical minerals in driving the global net-zero transition.

Africa possesses vast deposit reserves of critical minerals that can be utilised for global energy transition.

Mithika Mwenda of the Pan-African Climate Justice Alliance says there is a need for the continent to speak in one voice at international events.

“When we go to negotiations, we go there as countries but become vulnerable because our voice becomes very negligible in the negotiations, that is why we have blocks of countries banding together so that they can enhance their voice, for Africa, when we are going to the corp, we don’t go as South Africa, we don’t go as Kenya, we don’t go as Nigeria or Malawi. We go as an African group of negotiators bringing together all of us with a common position, for the just energy transition, we are going to have a position which is going to be a stronger position, competing with other’s interests in the world,” says Mwenda.

#AMDCMedia : Just wrapped up the African Consultative Forum on Critical Minerals and Just Transition! Under the theme “Evading the “resource curse” in critical minerals for net-zero transition and NDCs implementation in Africa.”

AMDC represented by @summermkhululi led… pic.twitter.com/tswOfPPDb1

— African Minerals Development Centre (AMDC) (@AfricanAmdc) August 23, 2024