World Bank to support ‘climate-smart’ mining for energy transition

The fund will support the sustainable extraction and processing of minerals and metals used in clean energy technologies, such as wind turbines, solar panels, and batteries for energy storage and electric vehicles.

The fund will focus on helping resource-rich developing countries benefit from increasing demand for minerals and metals, while ensuring the mining sector implements sustainable practices that minimise its environmental footprint.

The facility evolved from The Growing Role of Minerals and Metals for a Low-Carbon Future, a World Bank report which found that a low carbon future will be significantly more mineral intensive than a business-as-usual scenario. Global demand for ‘strategic minerals’ such as lithium, graphite and nickel will skyrocket by 965%, 383% and 108% respectively by 2050.

This growing demand offers an opportunity for mineral-rich developing countries, such as Bolivia (which has 70% of the planet’s known lithium) and the Democratic Republic of Congo (which supplies 60% of the world’s cobalt). However, it also represents a challenge: without climate-smart mining practices, the negative impacts from mining activities will increase, affecting vulnerable communities and the environment.

The facility will aim to make these processes more sustainable and less damaging.

The World Bank is targeting a total investment of $50mn for the fund, to be deployed over a five-year timeframe. Partners include the German government and private sector companies Rio Tinto and Anglo American. Projects may include supporting the integration of renewable energy into mining operations, preventing deforestation and supporting sustainable land-use practices.