Critical Minerals for Transition: Emerging Minerals Data and Scenarios

The transition to a low carbon economy will require the secure and sustainable supply of minerals for clean technologies and infrastructure. Speculation of an impending supply crunch in minerals such as lithium and cobalt has grown in recent years, and critical minerals strategies are once again rising on the political agenda. At the international level, however, the mineral needs of the transition have not typically featured in climate and energy scenarios, and freely available data on minerals reserves, trade and investment remains limited.

Ahead of COP26, this roundtable will feature an update from the International Energy Agency on their special report The Role of Critical Minerals in Clean Energy Transitions, and responses from experts in the field. Through moderated discussion, the session will then explore whether current data and scenarios are sufficient to inform minerals policy and investment through the transition, where there are gaps in data that might present security and sustainability risks, and how the roles of different actors in enhancing minerals data and governance might evolve over the coming years.