Africa sits at the center of global efforts to accelerate clean energy access and transitions. Home to approximately 40% of the world’s critical mineral reserves, the continent’s resources—ranging from cobalt and lithium to manganese and graphite—are indispensable to urgently-needed global decarbonization efforts. Yet, as global powers intensify competition for access through new critical mineral partnerships and supply chain strategies, Africa faces a pivotal challenge: transforming its mineral endowment into an engine for green industrialization, sustainable development, and strategic autonomy rather than perpetuating raw material dependence.

Co-organized by the Forum on Trade, Environment, and the SDGs (TESS), the UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD), and the Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), this session will convene policymakers, together with thought leaders from international organizations, business, NGO, and expert communities to explore cooperative approaches to trade in critical minerals that support sustainable development in Africa and global climate goals. Held alongside the Fourteenth World Trade Organization (WTO) Ministerial Conference (MC14), the session brings regional perspectives and priorities into discussions Members are having around trade cooperation on the clean energy transition, climate technologies, climate standards, and trade-related measures with climate objectives — all of which have interlinkages with critical minerals.

Panellists will identify trade and trade cooperation pathways to enable resource-rich African countries to integrate and capture greater value within critical minerals and clean energy supply chains, and foster economic diversification and climate-resilient development, while navigating growing global scrutiny around sustainability, due diligence, and circularity. The discussion will also address how African countries can collectively shape emerging global rules, standards, and partnerships to advance the Africa Mining Vision, the AfCFTA industrialization agenda, and the continent’s climate and development goals. 

• Highlight and discuss trade and industrial policy tools that governments of resource-rich African countries are mobilizing to support beneficiation and value addition in critical minerals supply chains
• Explore how African countries can collectively shape and navigate international ESG requirements and sustainability standards in ways that promote and ensure inclusive sustainable development outcomes, and support their export diversification and participation in trade, while avoiding unjustifiable or discriminatory trade barriers
• Identify positive incentives and cooperation measures that African countries can pursue in their trade arrangements with resource-dependent countries to support meaningful participation in higher-value segments of critical minerals value chains and promote climate resilient development

• Representative from the Ministry of Mines, Industry and Technological Development, Cameroon (TBD)
• Marit Y. Kitaw is Economic Affairs Officer, Minerals Sector Lead, Climate Change, Food Security, Natural Resources Division (CFND), United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA)
• Clovis Freire, Chief, Commodities Research and Analysis Section, UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD)
• Representative from The Intergovernmental Forum on Mining, Minerals, Metals and Sustainable Development (IGF)
• Peter Wooders, Co-Founder and Lead, Renewables, Geneva Platform for Resilient Value Chains
• Representative from the Mining Engineers Association of Cameroon (TBD)
• Moderator: Carolyn Deere Birkbeck, Executive Director, Forum on Trade, Environment, & the SDGs (TESS)