Towards Just Resource Exploitation in a Green Transition

The document argues that while Africa holds approximately 30% of the world's critical mineral reserves, the surge in demand for green minerals risks exacerbating inequalities and environmental degradation without strong governance. It advocates for a transition from rigid to progressive taxation, the development of domestic value chains (such as battery and EV component manufacturing), and the strategic reinvestment of mineral rents into climate resilience initiatives and local community development to ensure a just transition.

• Africa possesses a dominant share of several critical minerals essential for the energy transition, including 92% of platinum group metals, 50% of cobalt, and 42% of manganese, representing roughly 30% of global critical mineral reserves.
• Current tax regimes in many African countries are regressive, meaning the effective tax rate decreases as project profitability increases, which prevents governments from capturing a fair share of revenues during commodity booms.
• Mineral extraction often imposes severe negative externalities on local and Indigenous communities, including water contamination, habitat destruction, and socio-economic marginalisation, as seen with lithium extraction in Zimbabwe and mining in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
• To move beyond the historical role of raw mineral exporter, African nations should develop domestic value chains for high-tech products, such as lithium-ion batteries, solar panels, and electric vehicle components.
• The document recommends that mineral rents be strategically reinvested into climate resilience, specifically through nature-based solutions, climate-smart agriculture, and infrastructure designed to withstand extreme weather.
• Regional cooperation is identified as essential to prevent 'tax competition' and a 'race to the bottom' in taxation, while increasing the continent's collective bargaining power in global markets.

APA

Diouf, A. (2025). Towards Just Resource Exploitation in a Green Transition. South African Institute of International Affairs. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/SAIIA_PI_164_JustResourceExploitation.pdf

Chicago

Diouf, Awa. Towards Just Resource Exploitation in a Green Transition. South African Institute of International Affairs, 2025. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/SAIIA_PI_164_JustResourceExploitation.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Diouf |first1=Awa |title=Towards Just Resource Exploitation in a Green Transition |publisher=South African Institute of International Affairs |date=June 2025 |url=https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/SAIIA_PI_164_JustResourceExploitation.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{diouf2025towards, author = {Diouf, Awa}, title = {{Towards Just Resource Exploitation in a Green Transition}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2025}, month = jun, url = {https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/SAIIA_PI_164_JustResourceExploitation.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }