17.01.2024 UNCAC CoSP 2023: Side Event on Critical Minerals and Corruption

The Sector Programme “Extractives and Development” (GIZ) attended the tenth Conference of the States Parties (CoSP (External link)) to the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) that took place in Atlanta, USA, December 11 to 15, 2023. GIZ hosted a side event on “Critical Minerals and Corruption” which examined the role of illicit financial flows and corruption in the exploitation of minerals.

Ensuring a just energy transition and meeting the goals of the Paris Agreement will require a high amount of critical minerals. Increased demand, investment and return prospects, and limited, geographically concentrated availability of these resources exacerbate the risk of illicit financial flows and corruption. These undermine the mining sector’s ability to responsibly meet growing demand and contribute to the equitable distribution of benefits.

Bady Baldé (EITI), Susannah Fitzgerald (NRGI), Giancarlo León Collazos (General Consul of Peru in Atlanta), Brooke Stearns Lawson (USAID), Sophie Frossard (GIZ)

Countries worldwide have committed to transition toward a low-carbon economy. Hence, it is essential to address emerging governance challenges related to critical minerals to ensure a sustainable energy and mobility transition. To uphold international pledges, GIZ co-organised with various states parties as well as organisations and with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in the lead a “mega event” called “Action Now: Combating Corruption to Protect the Environment”.

As part of the technical segment, GIZ collaborated with USAID to host and moderate a side event on critical minerals and corruption. The panel featured experts from the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), the Financial Intelligence Unit of Peru (FIU-Peru), the Natural Resource Governance Institute (NRGI), and the Center for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID). Panelists presented their insights and introduced concrete measures to prevent and combat money laundering and corruption in the extractive sector. These included:

EITI: Implementation of Standards to Strengthen Governance and Mitigate Corruption Risks in the Energy Transition (Link 1 (External link), Link 2 (External link))
FIU Peru: Conducting National and Sectoral Money Laundering Risk Assessments related to the Extractive Sector (Link 1 (External link), Link 2 (External link))
NRGI: Diagnosing Corruption in the Extractive Sector: A Tool for Research and Action (External link)
CJID: Powering Just Energy Transition Green Minerals Challenge (External link)

The side event was well attended, and the audience showed great interest in the topic. Speakers highlighted the importance of multi-stakeholder formats and networks to mitigate corruption risks. Meanwhile, participants expressed the necessity for a closer collaboration and creation of synergies between the governance and climate communities. Moreover, enhanced transparency, accountability and engagement with local communities are needed to fight inequality. All agreed that we require joint efforts to combat corruption and ensure a just energy transition.

Side Event “Critical Minerals and Corruption“

Check out the recordings of the sessions:

For more information, please contact Sophie Frossard (External link) or Jan Bollmann (External link).