Working Group to transform extractive industries for sustainable development

In Latin America and the Caribbean, extractive industries have historically represented an important component for regional development. Although it has great potential to boost growth, generate employment and reduce poverty, the exploitation of non-renewable natural resources is also a source of conflicts associated with the distribution and use of economic rents, governance, and social and environmental impacts. .

Currently, some abundant minerals in Latin America and the Caribbean are considered strategic for sustainable development and for the transition towards a green or circular economy. For example, the region is home to more than 50% of the world’s lithium reserves and has countries that are among the world’s leading producers of copper, silver, iron and other minerals with growing demand in the global market.

Figure 1. Latin America and the Caribbean (17 countries): Participation in world reserves of selected minerals and hydrocarbons, 2021

(percentage)

Source: Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), on the statistical basis of the US Geological Survey, Mineral Commodity Summaries and British Petroleum (BP, 2022), “Statistical Review of World Energy 2021”.

Faced with the challenge of ensuring that the extractive sector becomes a sustainable system and contributes to the green transition, in October 2020 the United Nations launched a process to review the relevance of this industry within the framework of the “Financing for Sustainable Development” initiative. in the Age of COVID-19 and beyond” (FfDI for its acronym in English). Between 2020 and 2021, a series of round tables were organized by the United Nations Regional Economic Commissions to identify, together with the Member States, the impacts of extractive industries and the key points for their transformation. As a result, the Secretary-General of the United Nations published a policy brief on the Transformation of Extractive Industries for Sustainable Development, with a series of recommendations to advance the agenda within and outside the UN system.

Creation of the Working Group

In January 2022, the Working Group to Transform Extractive Industries for Sustainable Development was inaugurated, with the following main objectives:

1. Coordinate work related to extractive industries across the UN and beyond through joint planning and collaboration;

2. Serve as an information and knowledge center for the expansion and reproduction of good practices;

3. Provide policy advice and technical assistance to stakeholders in the sector;

4. Help integrate work on extractive industries into other UN initiatives, such as FfDI.

The Working Group is coordinated by UNDP, UNEP and the respective Regional Economic Commissions. The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) participates in the Working Group through the Non-renewable Resources Unit of the Natural Resources Division.

Other actors from inside and outside the UN system will be incorporated into the joint work to face the main challenges and opportunities offered by extractive activity.

Currently, the Working Group requests UN agencies and other actors with initiatives focused on the transformation of extractive industries to complete this survey mapping of existing efforts today.

rmation about the Working Group and related events is available on the page https://www.unep.org/events/working-group/transforming-extractive-industries-sustainable-development.