Delivering on climate goals will require a rapid halt to deforestation, and reforestation and afforestation at scale. But it will also require a secure and sustainable supply of minerals and materials for green technologies and sustainable infrastructure. Many of these commodities are found in critical forest landscapes, placing forests at increased risk as demand for minerals increases. This paper explores the mining sector’s impacts on forests, and the potential for ‘forest-smart’ mining policies and practices to support deforestation-free mineral supply chains.
1. Introduction
Minerals have an important role to play in supporting the transition to a decarbonized, sustainable economy. At the same time, there is an urgent need to halt deforestation and to support reforestation and afforestation at scale – in order to keep the rise in global average temperature well below 2ºC and as close as possible to 1.5ºC above pre-industrial levels, in line with the Paris Agreement on climate change. Significant shares of production and reserves of some of the minerals required for clean energy technologies and sustainable infrastructure – such as iron ore, copper, nickel, bauxite and cobalt – are found in critical forest landscapes. With rising demand anticipated for many mineral commodities,1 alongside the depletion of accessible reserves and declining ore grades across the sector, mining is likely to push further into forest landscapes, increasing the risk of deforestation and forest degradation.
While investors and consumers are increasingly aware of the sector’s wider climate impacts, the forest impacts associated with mineral supply chains – and their implications for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and biodiversity loss – remain something of a blind spot. In order to ensure that the mining sector’s contribution to transition is as sustainable as possible, there is an urgent need for stakeholders along the minerals value chain to work together to: mitigate the emissions associated with mining and mineral supply chains; alleviate the impacts of mining on nature, including air, land, forests, water and biodiversity; reduce demand for mineral commodities by improving resource efficiency; and, over time, move away from linear supply chains and towards a circular economy.
This paper explores the impacts of large-scale mining on forests, within this wider context of transition. It expands upon the key themes of a research workshop which was held at Chatham House in May 2019, with the objective of identifying areas for further research and engagement. Section 2 explores the current state of knowledge around mining-induced deforestation and forest degradation, and the potential that ‘forest-smart’ approaches to mining may offer. Section 3 considers the extent to which mining’s forest impacts are acknowledged by consumers and investors, and the potential for emerging forest finance mechanisms and forest monitoring systems to raise awareness around the mining sector’s forest impacts, and encourage forest protection and restoration. Section 4 signposts several areas where the mining sector’s impacts on forests could be better addressed at country, company and sector level.
See Hund, K., La Porta, D., Fabregas, T., Laing, T. and Drexhage, J. (2020), Minerals for Climate Action: The Mineral Intensity of the Clean Energy Transition, Washington, DC: World Bank Group, http://pubdocs.worldbank.org/en/961711588875536384/Minerals-for-Climate-Action-The-Mineral-Intensity-of-the-Clean-Energy-Transition.pdf (accessed 28 May 2020).