Developing countries and climate campaigners are pushing for governments to agree that the production of minerals crucial for tackling climate change should be included in the official definition of “just transition” at the COP30 climate talks.

The G77+China umbrella group of developing countries is calling for critical minerals and access to energy to fall within the scope of the Just Transition Work Programme (JTWP) at the UN climate negotiations and any advice-sharing mechanism that may emerge from COP30 in Brazil in November.

“We see critical minerals as being one of the priorities that we have been trying to address when we look into the just energy transition,” said Egyptian negotiator Khaled Hashem, the G77 group’s lead on this issue, adding that mineral production presents “challenges and opportunities” for developing countries.

Raw materials like copper, cobalt, lithium and nickel are key to green technology like electric vehicle batteries and wind turbines, with large reserves found in developing countries such as the Democratic Republic of Congo, Chile and Indonesia.

These countries say they want to maximise the benefits of producing minerals and metals for the clean economy – by creating local jobs with high wages, revenues for the government and domestic processing industries – while minimising potential downsides like environmental degradation caused by mining and abuses of workers’ rights.

‘Whole economy’ approach

The concept of “just transition” emerged from labour union movements and has traditionally focused mainly on ensuring that workers in polluting industries, including fossil fuel extraction and power production, and their communities are treated fairly as those jobs disappear.

Hashem said this aspect is important. But, since the launch of the Just Transition Work Programme under the UN climate talks two years ago, developing countries have moved beyond this narrow concept to talk about broader transition issues such as critical minerals, energy access and energy poverty.

Hashem said developing countries are united on this approach, adding that developed-country stances would become clearer at a dialogue taking place in the Ethiopian city of Addis Ababa during UN climate week in early September – but added that he didn’t expect much resistance.

Antonio Hill, an advisor w