IRMA is dedicated to climate action through the IRMA Standard and system, on local to international levels. This requires action from a holistic lens, reducing greenhouse gas emissions alongside the wide range of other topics covered in the IRMA Standard, including protecting the rights of affected communities, Indigenous rights holders, and workers. This blog highlights recent IRMA engagements and partnerships including with the United Nations (UN) Secretary-General’s Panel on Critical Energy Transition Minerals, Climate Week NYC, the UN Convention on Biological Diversity Conference of the Parties (COP), the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change COP, and beyond. We welcome you to collaborate with us on climate action, including in events leading up to and at the next Climate COP (COP 30) in Belém, Brazil!
The UN Secretary General’s Panel on Critical Energy Transition Minerals
IRMA was honored to be a member of the UN Secretary-General’s Panel on Critical Energy Transition Minerals. The Panel’s report Resourcing the Energy Transition: Principles to Guide Critical Energy Transition Minerals Towards Equity and Justice outlines seven Guiding Principles and five Actionable Recommendations to support “a new paradigm rooted in equity and justice.” The Guiding Principles “based on existing norms, commitments and legal obligations outlined in United Nations texts,” cover human rights; safeguarding the environment and biodiversity; justice and equity; benefit sharing, value addition, and economic diversification; responsible and fair investments, finance, and trade; transparency, accountability, and anti-corruption measures necessary to ensure good governance; and multilateral and international cooperation. The Actionable Recommendations include creating a High-Level Expert Advisory Group; a global traceability, transparency, and accountability framework; a Global Mining Legacy Fund; an initiative to empower artisanal and small-scale miners to foster development, environmental stewardship, and human rights; and targets and timelines for material efficiency and circularity.
The Panel and its report are a remarkable achievement and platform for action. While the work of the Panel, outlined in the Terms of Reference for Panel Members, formally concluded with completion of the report in September 2024, it is likely that many Panel Members will continue to work on implementation, including through the High-Level Expert Advisory Group proposed under the Actionable Recommendations. The UN Secretary-General, Climate Action Team, UN Conference on Trade and Development, UN Environment Programme, Panel Members, and others are using key regional and international forums to socialize the report and build support for implementation. Last year these forums included the UN General Assembly, Summit of the Future, and Climate Week in New York City; the G20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change COP (COP29) in Baku, Azerbaijan.
IRMA values relationships built across sectors through this process and will continue to promote implementation of the Guiding Principles, each already integrated into the IRMA Standard and system, while working collaboratively toward implementation of the Actionable Recommendations. Learn more about IRMA’s experience with the Panel and suggest next steps by contacting us at info@responsiblemining.net.
Climate Week NYC
IRMA participated in an event-filled Climate Week NYC in September 2024 where we raised awareness around IRMA and helped socialize the UN Secretary-General’s Panel on Critical Energy Transition Minerals report.
Some highlights of the week included:
IRMA Law & Policy Director, Kristi Disney Bruckner, spoke at a Climate Champions Team Fireside Chat and participated in a roundtable on transition minerals where we launched the report Responsible, Rights-Based & Nature Positive Critical Energy Transition Mineral Production in Africa, co-authored by the African Natural Capital Alliance, The African Climate Foundation, the Climate Champions Team, and IRMA.
IRMA Executive Director, Aimee Boulanger, spoke at the UN Global Goals Summit Business Fights Poverty Event, “Ensuring Mining for the Low-Carbon Energy Boom Addresses the Full Range of the SDGs.” Access the meeting summary and recordings here.
Kristi represented IRMA at the high-level roundtable “Strengthening Local Value Chains for Energy Transition Solutions in the Global South,” hosted by the Council on Critical Minerals Development in the Global South, facilitated by Sustainable Energy for All, Global South Clean Transportation Centre, Institute for Transportation Studies at UC Davis, and Swaniti Global, in partnership with the Africa Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
The Open Government Partnership, Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, and IRMA, with support from the Urban Sustainability Program at Brooklyn College, CUNY, hosted a panel and discussion on “Pathways to a Credible Just Energy Transition” at CUNY School of Labor and Urban Studies.
Biodiversity COP (COP 16)
IRMA Regional Lead for Americas and the Caribbean, Adan Olivares Castro, represented IRMA at COP 16 in Cali, Colombia, held from 21 October to 1 November 2024. At the invitation of the Dutch National Committee of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN NL), Adan represented IRMA as a panelist for the event “Prosper with Nature: Safeguarding Biodiversity and Human Rights in Energy Transition Mineral Supply Chains,” co-organized by Indonesian NGO Auriga Nasantara, Ghanian NGO A Rocha Ghana, the Center for Transnational Environmental Accountability, Responsible Critical Mineral Initiative, Rainforest Foundation Norway, and Mighty Earth. The event highlighted the impact of the significant increase in demand for critical energy transition minerals in various biodiversity-rich countries and actions to promote No-go zone areas for resource extraction. Remarks by a delegate of Colombia’s Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development closed the session.
Adan Olivares Castro speaking at COP16
“…without having a clear, comprehensive understanding of No-go zones on a community-by-community level, it is very difficult to understand exactly what is feasible for extraction… further integrating Indigenous knowledge systems in the 2nd version of the IRMA Standard for Responsible Mining puts Indigenous rights in terms of self-governance at the center of an energy transition.” – Adan Olivares Castro
Throughout the Conference, Adan held meetings with Colombian rights holders, NGOs, and mining companies to increase IRMA’s presence in the country and attended sessions focused on mining impacts and traceability of mineral supply chains, including “A Safe & Just Energy Transition: Securing Indigenous Peoples Rights and Protecting Nature in the Sourcing of Transition Minerals” and the launch of the Global Effort on Traceability and Accountability in the Transition Minerals Sector.
Climate COP (COP 29)
IRMA participated in its second Climate COP in 2024 after being admitted as an official Observer NGO in 2023. At COP 29, held in Baku, Azerbaijan, we organized our first Blue Zone side event, co-hosted by Publish What You Pay and ResponsibleSteel. The event “Advancing Fairness and Environmental and Social Responsibility in Transition Mineral Supply Chains” featured the experience of the three organizations and the UN Secretary-General’s Panel on Critical Energy Transition Minerals. Access a recording of the side event here.
Represented by Law & Policy Director, Kristi Disney Bruckner, IRMA also participated in multiple roundtables and panel events at COP 29, including:
“UN High-Level Meeting on Resourcing the Energy Transition with Justice and Equity: Advancing the Recommendations of the Secretary-General’s Panel on Critical Energy Transition Minerals.” Access a summary and recording here.
Council for Critical Minerals Development in the Global South (a partnership between Sustainable Energy for All, Swaniti Global, and University of California, Davis) and the India Climate Collaborative roundtable “Beyond Extraction: Developing around Critical Minerals in the Global South.” Kristi presented on environmental and social standards and community benefit sharing.
Kristi was a speaker on the “Talk Show: Charting Indonesia Forward as a Green Global Battery Hub” hosted by World Resources Institute Indonesia and the Ministry of National Development Planning (Bappenas). Access a summary and recording of this event here.
We look forward to building on COP 29 and to seeing you at COP 30 this November!
The Role of Standards in a Responsible Social Transition
Decarbonization will bring profound transformations to heavy industries, driving significant technological, geographic, economic, and social changes. To understand and respond to the impacts of this transition, IRMA and ResponsibleSteel are jointly working on a project that explores the role of voluntary sustainability standards in driving a responsible transition in the steel and mining sectors. The project seeks to understand and develop strategies to address the social impacts of the energy transition. This effort is funded by ISEAL, a global organization for credible sustainability standards, as part of its work on the role of sustainability systems in just transitions.
The project will identify key challenges, map how international standards can address them, highlight critical gaps, and outline future work required to fill those gaps. Findings will be validated through engagement with workers, unions, business leaders, and other key stakeholders. This initiative will help establish a shared approach to the role of standards in advancing a just transition for workers in the steel and mining sectors, with outcomes circulated across the ISEAL community and broader networks. Learn more about the project at the ResponsibleSteel website, and via this Q&A with IRMA’s Davidzo Muchawaya and ResponsibleSteel’s Haruko Horii.
Collaborate with Us in 2025!
These are just a few highlights of our climate-focused work. We welcome you to collaborate in IRMA’s action on climate in the year ahead!
Examples of opportunities to engage include:
Planning joint events at Climate Week NYC, COP 30, or other forums
Participating in IRMA’s Expert Working Group on Mining & Circularity
Represented by Law & Policy Director, Kristi Disney Bruckner, IRMA also participated in multiple roundtables and panel events at COP 29, including:
Decarbonization will bring profound transformations to heavy industries, driving significant technological, geographic, economic, and social changes. To understand and respond to the impacts of this transition, IRMA and ResponsibleSteel are jointly working on a project that explores the role of voluntary sustainability standards in driving a responsible transition in the steel and mining sectors. The project seeks to understand and develop strategies to address the social impacts of the energy transition. This effort is funded by ISEAL, a global organization for credible sustainability standards, as part of its work on the role of sustainability systems in just transitions.
These are just a few highlights of our climate-focused work. We welcome you to collaborate in IRMA’s action on climate in the year ahead!