The “UN Guidance for Action on Critical Energy Transition Minerals” is a key document prepared by the UN Secretary-General’s Working Group on Transforming the Extractive Industries for Sustainable Development. This guidance aims to promote collective action and assist UN Member States in implementing the seven Guiding Principles and five Actionable Recommendations proposed by the UN Secretary-General’s Panel on Critical Energy Transition Minerals. The Panel’s main goal was to develop global, common, and voluntary principles to ensure that the international energy transition is both fair and sustainable, allowing mineral-producing countries to gain significant social and economic benefits from their mineral resources and supply chains. The document specifically discusses how critical minerals—such as copper, cobalt, nickel, lithium, graphite, and rare earth elements, which are essential for electric vehicles, battery storage, solar panels, and wind turbines—can be responsibly managed throughout their lifecycle.
Central to promoting responsible management of critical minerals are the United Nations Framework Classification for Resources (UNFC) and the United Nations Resource Management System (UNRMS). UNFC is a globally accepted, project-based, and principles-driven classification system that evaluates the environmental, socio-economic viability, technical feasibility, and confidence levels of resource projects. Its broad applicability covers various resources, including minerals, fossil fuels, renewable energy, and secondary resources derived from waste. Building on UNFC, UNRMS functions as a comprehensive, voluntary global framework for integrated and sustainable resource management. It aligns resource investments with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, emphasising principles like circularity and ESG (environmental, social, and governance) compliance to foster positive social and environmental outcomes from resource production and reuse. Both frameworks are vital for achieving transparent, holistic, and sustainable resource governance worldwide.
The EU Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA), adopted in 2024, mandates the use of UNFC as the official reporting system for mineral projects within the EU. This is a legally binding requirement that emphasises the importance of transparent, consistent, and credible resource estimates to support investment and regulatory decisions. The African Minerals and Energy Resources Classification and Management System (AMREC), along with its sub-component, the Pan African Resource Reporting Code (PARC), represents a continental system based on UNFC and UNRMS. Its aim is to standardise reporting and foster sustainable development in Africa’s mineral and energy sectors, enhancing transparency and investor confidence across the continent. The United Nations Transparency Protocol (UNTP), another initiative, provides a traceability mechanism and interoperability toolkit, allowing businesses to share verifiable sustainability information across supply chains. The International Centres of Excellence on Sustainable Resource Management (ICE-SRMs), established in multiple regions, serve as key platforms for multilateral cooperation, offering applied research, policy advice, capacity-building, and country-specific support for sustainable resource management, and functioning as regional hubs for promoting global standards and facilitating technology transfer.
These integrated tools, along with the broader efforts of the UN Secretary-General’s Working Group, aim to establish resilient, transparent, and ethically sourced critical mineral supply chains worldwide.