Our recommendations for Africa to make the most of its transition minerals
Africa is an important supplier of transition minerals to the world. Yet the continent is stuck at a relatively low level in transition mineral value chains, where it processes some of its minerals but is largely absent from the manufacturing of many technologies linked to clean energy.
African leaders have the power to change the game. Discover how they could seize this key opportunity to support inclusive growth, create jobs and reduce poverty.
Our recommendations
African countries should:
> Develop economic and industrial cooperation amongst themselves, focusing on parts of the value chain where they are most competitive. This could be complemented by efforts to ensure that the benefits of such cooperation (e.g., jobs created, tax revenues earned) are fairly shared between cooperating African countries. This approach will enhance their participation in transition mineral value chains and ensure economic benefits for African citizens.
> Promote technical cooperation, including transfer of technology and skills relevant to transition mineral value chains to strengthen regional capabilities and expertise.
> Develop strong policies and appropriate regulations to encourage greater participation of national companies in supplying mining companies. But they should weigh this against other opportunities to promote new businesses. African countries should prioritise the opportunities with the greatest chance of delivering the widest long-term economic benefits.
> Take into account broader impacts of promoting greater participation in transition mineral value chains, such as effects on human rights and climate, and more localised environmental impacts.
> Ensure that policies to promote greater participation in energy transition supply chains are developed through dialogue with the private sector and civil society on what new industries are feasible and desirable, and how to achieve them.
> Ensure that policies that they adopt to promote value addition and local content in transition minerals are made in a transparent and accountable way and are implemented. This will reduce risks of corruption, cronyism and waste of resources, and give a greater chance of delivering positive outcomes.
> Closely monitor how policies to promote value addition and local content are working, and be prepared to abandon those that have failed to focus on reforms that would harness greater strategic opportunities.
> Not expect transition mineral value chains alone to provide all of the economic growth that they need, and consider pursuing other economic opportunities, taking into account the limits to governments’ capacity to promote many initiatives simultaneously.
> Not expect all efforts to promote a greater share of transition mineral value chains to work as intended. Industrial policymaking is difficult to get right, and it is normal to have some failed efforts to develop new industries (but still worth trying, as the successes should more than make up for the failures).
> Guarantee free and protected civic space, allowing stakeholders from across the country to participate freely in debates on politics and policy. This should include restricting the use of strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs).
> Ensure meaningful consultation and participation for all communities affected by mining. Indigenous peoples’ Free, Prior and Informed Consent – their right to give or withhold consent – must be prioritised and respected, as aligned with the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
> Ensure the creation of “no-go zones” to protect people and the environment in high risk areas. Only extract minerals in line with the most rigorous international human rights and environmental standards through meaningful, transparent and gender-responsive mandatory human rights and environmental due diligence. Guarantee effective, independent monitoring of mitigation and corrective measures, including access to justice and effective remedy for all victims of corporate abuses.
> Ensure that national environmental regulators are independent from the companies they regulate.
Development partners (e.g., countries and institutions that provide aid to or trade with Africa) should:
> Support African countries’ efforts to capture more value through transition mineral supply chains, where these are realistic. They can do this through:
- Supporting knowledge – including research and development – and technology transfer to African firms along the length of transition mineral value chains.
- Not opposing African countries’ sensible use of active industrial policies to capture more of the economic value in global transition mineral value chains.
- Not using trade policies to make it difficult for African countries to export processed transition mineral products to their markets.
- Where they use carbon border adjustment mechanisms, taking into account the pollution involved in transporting minerals to another country to be processed.
- Considering providing financing to make greater participation in transition mineral value chains more viable in Africa (e.g., through industrial, infrastructure, skills development, etc.).
- Ensuring that their support to value addition initiatives respects the needs of local communities, human rights and the environment.
- Supporting Africa’s efforts to develop regional value chains. When pursuing trade agreements with African countries that are members of customs unions, they should try to sign them with the customs union as a whole rather than individual members, to avoid undermining the political trust that underpins the regional integration process.
> Ensure that their efforts to acquire transition minerals (whether processed or otherwise) from Africa do not contribute to negative side-effects (e.g., the suffering of local communities and/or destruction of the environment in mining or mineral processing areas). In addition, they should do their utmost to ensure that workers in transition mineral value chains and affected communities receive a fair share of economic benefits created by them. Development partners can do this by conducting due diligence of the supply chains through which they source transition minerals, and carefully considering the design of international agreements that encourage international trade in transition minerals and/or govern transition mineral value chains. In doing so, they should listen to perspectives from civil society, communities affected by transition mineral value chains, and organisations representing workers and equity-seeking groups, etc .
> Reform ISDS provisions in existing and future bilateral investment treaties (BITs) so that they do not undermine the efforts of African countries to implement policies that promote value retention, and protect public interests, human rights, and the environment.
> Pursue policies to limit demand for metallic transition minerals, due to the high levels of emissions from metal supply chains. This should not imply slowing the transition away from fossil fuels, which cause far more emissions, but rather encouraging public and private consumption choices to take into account the negative impacts of metals on the climate.
> Contribute to the fight against international tax avoidance, illicit financial flows and corruption, including the mining sector.
Civil society should:
> Advocate for African governments to foster regional cooperation among African countries to enhance their participation in transition mineral value chains. This includes sharing resources, expertise, and technology to strengthen regional value chains and economic integration.
> Push African governments to develop policies to capture a greater share of transition mineral value chains, where this would carry economic benefits for the country in question
> Hold governments to account over how they do this, ensuring that policymaking is well-reasoned, inclusive, participatory and that both policymaking and policy delivery are transparent and accountable.
> Push African governments to reinforce protection of human rights, including Indigenous people’s rights, and the environment, and address corruption and integrity risks, including in transition mineral value chains.
> Campaign to protect and enhance civic space so that stakeholders across Africa can freely participate in discussions on politics and policy; this should include campaigning for restrictions on SLAPPs.
> Put pressure on development partners to support African countries to experience greater participation in transition mineral value chains, through knowledge and technology transfer, and through not opposing the sensible use of active industrial policies to promote these activities.
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