Beverly Besmanos is the national coordinator of Bantay Kita-Philippines, a coalition of NGOs advocating for transparency and accountability of the extractive industries in the Philippines. Nsama Chikwanka is the national director of Publish What You Pay Zambia. They are both members of the Resource Justice Network. The clean-energy transition, the solution to the climate crisis, is bulldozing through the Global South, driving a surge in demand for minerals such as copper, nickel, cobalt and lithium. These transition minerals are crucial to build cleaner energy systems and help the world transition away from fossil fuels. Yet, without guardrails, the mining rush is fuelling human-rights abuses and environmental destruction. As the seventh session of the United Nations Environmental Assembly (UNEA-7) gets underway in Nairobi this week, we need to sound the alarm and mobilise countries to stand for equity and rights in mineral governance. Voluntary safeguards and corporate goodwill are not stopping are not stopping mining harms. National policies and laws are also falling short of what is needed. What we need are binding global rules. What UNEA-7 can deliver is a credible pathway to deliver them. Dec 4, 2025 Clean Energy Frontier Proposal for global minerals deal meets opposition as China looks away Saudi Arabia, Iran and Russia oppose a UN resolution for nations to start discussing options for a global minerals agreement to reduce the environmental impacts of mining Read more Sep 2, 2025 Clean Energy Frontier Victims of Zambian copper mine disaster demand multibillion dollar payout Dozens of families are threatening to sue China’s Sino-Metals over a devastating spill of toxic mining waste that caused one of the nation’s worst environmental disasters Read more Oct 2, 2025 Clean Energy Frontier Migrant workers building Saudi Arabia’s green future face exploitation, report finds Heat stroke, long hours and punishment for taking breaks – low-paid foreign workers compare jobs on Saudi renewable energy projects to a prison sentence Read more Since recent UN climate talks have ignored mineral governance, and domestic approaches have clearly failed to enforce consistent standards, UNEA-7 cannot afford to stall. Under the leadership of Colombia, several mineral-rich Global South countries are taking action for stronger global mineral governance. This is a unique chance we cannot miss. An opportunity to chart a way forward Countries in Nairobi must adopt Colombia’s resolution to develop international instruments for the “socially and environmentally sound management of minerals and metals” across their entire life cycle, from mining to recycling. Crucially, they must establish an ad hoc open-ended working group with an ambitious mandate, tasked to identify gaps, develop proposals for international rules, and unequivocally keep legally binding options on the table, so that these recommendations can be presented at the next UNEA session in 2026. Binding rules are the only way to create a level playing field, reward responsible companies, and prevent a race to the bottom where purely voluntary schemes leave honest actors undercut. The necessity for enforceable global standards is written in the polluted waters and degraded lands of our homes, from Zambia’s Copperbelt to the nickel mines of the Philippines. The view from the mine In Zambia, Africa’s second-largest copper producer, two tailings dam breaches six months apart in 2025— in Kalulushi and Mwense districts — released toxic effluent into rivers. These disasters disrupted livelihoods, killed aquatic life, and exposed communities to long-term health risks and loss of economic opportunities. Weak local safeguards and the sheer impunity of multinational companies enabled this disaster. The alleged suppression of a study into the disaster’s true scale proves that when profits are threatened, truth and life are sacrificed. We cannot rely on companies to police themselves; we need a global legal hammer to enforce accountability. Farmer Nelson Band holds a burnt cob of maize and a sachet of drinking water handed out by the Zambian government after a major acid leak from a copper mine polluted the soil and water streams (Photo: Stafrance Zulu) In the Philippines, a key nickel supplier for electric vehicle batteries, nickel mines in Caraga Region, Tawi-Tawi, and Palawan are stripping forests and mangroves that protect coasts. Siltation and runoff choke farms and fisheries, water turns reddish-brown, carcinogenic chromium appears in drinking supplies. Food insecurity follows. The social toll is equally severe. Too many projects proceed without securing Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) from Indigenous Peoples, and land and environment defenders face harassment and violence. A global instrument must centre FPIC, defender protection, due diligence, and access to remedy as enforceable obligations to halt this cycle of abuse. The UN is the place to broker new rules As mining supply chains are inherently transboundary, only cooperation and consistent, open standards will yield resilient, equitable, and transparent mineral extraction. We must hold multinational enterprises, which operate across borders, to the same environmental and human rights norms worldwide. Such legally binding rules are essential to establish equal standards for all and operating certainty for businesses. The UN is the right body to carry this work. As the world’s highest-level decision-making body for matters related to the environment, UNEA is tasked with setting priorities for global environmental law — a mandate that needs to include mining. We don’t need another dialogue or a light-touch technical platform. Countries must instead turn best practice and voluntary principles into enforceable rules. We want justice now for the communities and ecosystems being sacrificed in the name of the energy transition. By acting decisively, UNEA-7 can set a new paradigm across the full life cycle of minerals, rooted in environmental integrity, human rights, Indigenous Peoples’ rights, justice, and equity. We urge countries to support Colombia’s initiative and adopt an ambitious resolution as a key step towards concrete, decision-ready options for a global instrument to govern mineral extraction. The post Mining is destroying our homes: We need global binding rules for mineral extraction appeared first on Climate Home News.

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