Minerales para la transición energética: propuestas de salvaguardas para América Latina sobre los principios de la ONU

This report by Transforma and the Natural Resource Governance Institute (NRGI) proposes social, environmental, and governance safeguards for the mining of energy transition minerals in Latin America. Based on UN principles and case studies in Chile, Colombia, and Peru, the document identifies systemic gaps between mining laws and their territorial implementation, advocating for a shift away from historical extractivist patterns toward a just energy transition.

• The energy transition has triggered an unprecedented demand for minerals such as copper, lithium, cobalt, nickel, graphite, and rare earths. Lithium demand increased by approximately 30% over the last five years, while nickel, cobalt, graphite, and rare earths grew between 6% and 8%. Copper is identified as the most transversal mineral, used in at least 10 different energy production, transport, and storage technologies, with total demand potentially tripling by 2030.
• Comparative analysis of mining projects in Chile, Colombia, and Peru reveals a consistent gap between legal frameworks and effective territorial implementation. Common challenges include limited local access to clear information, violations of human and collective rights, a lack of binding community participation mechanisms, and restricted civic spaces characterized by the criminalization of environmental defenders.
• Water is a central axis of socio-environmental conflicts in Latin American mining regions due to scarcity, contamination, and unequal distribution. In Chile, for example, tensions arise from the pressure on water sources in contexts of desertification and mining expansion, where significant disparities exist between the water rights granted to mining companies versus those granted to local farmers.
• The report proposes 10 priority safeguards to ensure a just energy transition, categorized across normative, institutional, and territorial/community levels. These include: ensuring Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC); protecting environmental defenders; implementing participatory territorial planning; guaranteeing the human right to water; creating transparent and participatory environmental impact assessments (EIA); planning mine closures with community involvement; ensuring effective territorial oversight; managing mining rents for local benefit; promoting local value addition (nearshoring); and implementing responsible demand and production management.
• To operationalize these safeguards, the report suggests a multilevel governance scheme consisting of three bodies: a Global Coordination Group to align inter-institutional efforts, a Technical-Operational Working Group for monitoring and technical support, and a Multi-stakeholder Advisory Group to ensure inclusive participation from governments, indigenous peoples, and civil society.
• The document emphasizes the need for Latin American countries to move beyond the export of raw materials toward the generation of local added value. It recommends developing regional industrial policies and utilizing platforms like the Pacific Alliance, MERCOSUR, or CELAC to coordinate a common regional vision for trade treaties and cooperation agreements.

APA

Bermúdez, J. F., Ramos, Y. P., Busconi, A., Patiño, D. C. B., Mogollón, A. M., Marengo, M., Peña, J., Tapia, P. Z., Rojas, M. A., & Patzy, F. (2025). Minerales para la transición energética: propuestas de salvaguardas para América Latina sobre los principios de la ONU. Transforma. https://transforma.global/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/20251215-Minerales-para-la-transicion-energetica-VIS_VFINAL.pdf

Chicago

Bermúdez, Juliette F., Yessica Prieto Ramos, Antonela Busconi, Diana Carolina Barba Patiño, Ana María Mogollón, Melissa Marengo, Juliana Peña, et al. Minerales para la transición energética: propuestas de salvaguardas para América Latina sobre los principios de la ONU. Transforma, 2025. https://transforma.global/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/20251215-Minerales-para-la-transicion-energetica-VIS_VFINAL.pdf.

Wikipedia

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BibTeX

@techreport{bermdez2025minerales, author = {Bermúdez, Juliette F. and Ramos, Yessica Prieto and Busconi, Antonela and Patiño, Diana Carolina Barba and Mogollón, Ana María and Marengo, Melissa and Peña, Juliana and Tapia, Pedro Zapata and Rojas, María Angélica and Patzy, Fernando}, title = {{Minerales para la transición energética: propuestas de salvaguardas para América Latina sobre los principios de la ONU}}, institution = {Transforma}, year = {2025}, month = dec, url = {https://transforma.global/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/20251215-Minerales-para-la-transicion-energetica-VIS_VFINAL.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }