A missed opportunity for the UN to demand a more responsible mining industry

Global Witness argues that UNEA-6 missed a critical opportunity to regulate the mining industry for the energy transition. While a digital knowledge hub for environmental protection was established, the final resolution removed mandates for assessing regulations, tackling human rights violations, and addressing colonial extraction patterns due to resistance from several Member States. The document also highlights a lack of action on resource overconsumption by wealthy nations and calls for the UN and upcoming COP meetings in Azerbaijan and Brazil to prioritize a just energy transition and Indigenous rights.

• The UNEA-6 resolution was significantly weakened compared to original drafts, with several Member States—including Indonesia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Argentina, Russia, Algeria, and Chile—successfully blocking the inclusion of assessments for regulations, voluntary standards, and the strengthening of UNEP's mandate regarding deep-sea mining and sand extraction.
• The final resolution fails to commit Member States to mitigate environmental harms or address human rights violations and colonial extraction methods in transition mineral supply chains, opting instead for general calls for stakeholder inclusivity and capacity-building.
• Research from the International Resource Panel (IRP) indicates that wealthy countries consume six times more materials per capita and cause ten times more climate impacts than the poorest nations; however, UNEA-6 failed to produce practical solutions to address this overconsumption, which is projected to increase resource use by 60% by 2060.
• The document identifies the UN Secretary General’s Panel on Critical Energy Transition Minerals and upcoming UNFCCC COP meetings in Azerbaijan and Brazil as essential venues for establishing global resource reduction pathways, circular economies, and the principle of free, prior and informed consent for Indigenous Peoples.

APA

Global Witness (n.d.). A missed opportunity for the UN to demand a more responsible mining industry. https://globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/transition-minerals/a-missed-opportunity-for-the-un-to-demand-a-more-responsible-mining-industry/

Chicago

Global Witness. A missed opportunity for the UN to demand a more responsible mining industry. n.d. https://globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/transition-minerals/a-missed-opportunity-for-the-un-to-demand-a-more-responsible-mining-industry/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Global Witness |title=A missed opportunity for the UN to demand a more responsible mining industry |url=https://globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/transition-minerals/a-missed-opportunity-for-the-un-to-demand-a-more-responsible-mining-industry/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{globalwitnessndmissed, author = {{Global Witness}}, title = {{A missed opportunity for the UN to demand a more responsible mining industry}}, publisher = {Global Witness}, url = {https://globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/transition-minerals/a-missed-opportunity-for-the-un-to-demand-a-more-responsible-mining-industry/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }