4 ways policymakers can bridge the battery industry's cooperation gap

The global battery industry for electric vehicles and energy storage must grow 17-fold by 2030 to meet COP28 renewable energy targets. However, geostrategic competition and siloed policymaking have created a 'cooperation gap' that threatens to increase costs and slow electric vehicle adoption. To address this, the Global Battery Alliance recommends four priority areas for policymakers: harmonizing ESG and traceability standards, creating global regulatory frameworks for circularity and end-of-life battery management, coordinating financing for refining and processing capacity, and implementing high social and environmental standards for mining projects, including the principle of free, prior and informed consent.

• To achieve COP28 targets for tripling renewable energy capacity by 2030, the global battery industry for energy storage and electric vehicles needs to increase in size by 17 times by 2030.
• The battery sector faces three primary gaps: a supply gap for critical minerals such as cobalt, copper, graphite, lithium, and nickel; a financing gap for production, recycling, and supply chain diversification; and a sustainability gap regarding social, environmental, and governance (ESG) impacts.
• Current 'siloed policymaking' and geostrategic competition are creating a 'cooperation gap' that risks increasing value chain costs and slowing the adoption of electric vehicles.
• Policymakers should harmonize ESG performance, due diligence, and traceability approaches, ensuring that mineral-producing and midstream countries have a stronger voice in shaping these standards.
• There is an urgent need for global regulatory frameworks to manage the circularity of critical minerals, specifically regarding the safe collection, storage, transportation, and trade of end-of-life batteries, including the development of a taxonomy for black mass.
• Financing should be directed toward refining and processing capacity to diversify concentrated supply chains, potentially using 'green premiums' to incentivize sustainable mineral sourcing.
• Mining projects should be underpinned by a social and environmental license to operate, incorporating the principles of free, prior and informed consent for Indigenous peoples and adopting 'no net loss to the environment' as a minimum criterion.

APA

Toroskainen, K. (2024). 4 ways policymakers can bridge the battery industry's cooperation gap. World Economic Forum. https://www.weforum.org/stories/energy-transition/policymakers-cooperation-gap-battery-critical-minerals/

Chicago

Toroskainen, Kaisa. 4 ways policymakers can bridge the battery industry's cooperation gap. World Economic Forum, 2024. https://www.weforum.org/stories/energy-transition/policymakers-cooperation-gap-battery-critical-minerals/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Toroskainen |first1=Kaisa |title=4 ways policymakers can bridge the battery industry's cooperation gap |publisher=World Economic Forum |date=25 June 2024 |url=https://www.weforum.org/stories/energy-transition/policymakers-cooperation-gap-battery-critical-minerals/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{toroskainen2024ways, author = {Toroskainen, Kaisa}, title = {{4 ways policymakers can bridge the battery industry's cooperation gap}}, publisher = {World Economic Forum}, year = {2024}, month = jun, url = {https://www.weforum.org/stories/energy-transition/policymakers-cooperation-gap-battery-critical-minerals/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }