【世界经济论坛WEF】2024将关键原材料贸易转化为发展效益白皮书_23页_4mb

Summary of "Translating Critical Raw Material Trade into Development Benefits"

Core Content

This white paper by the World Economic Forum explores how critical raw material (CRM) trade can be leveraged to create development benefits for resource-rich countries, especially in the context of the global energy transition. It outlines three main themes: maximizing CRM partnerships for development, advancing regional mineral value chains through trade policy, and accelerating international development programmes for sustainable mining.

Main Views and Key Information

1. CRM Partnerships

• Rise of State-to-State Deals: Governments are increasingly forming bilateral and multilateral partnerships to secure CRM supply, driven by both strategic and sustainability considerations.
• Types of Partnerships:
  • Investment-focused: Joint investments in mining, processing, and recycling projects, often aligned with ESG standards.
  • Policy or market access: Collaboration on policy issues and access to domestic incentives.
  • Data or analytics-driven: Focus on supply transparency, demand forecasting, and risk analysis.
• Key Players:
  • Minerals Security Partnership (MSP): US-led with 12 other countries and the EU.
  • ASEAN-Japan: Japanese investment to develop a regional EV ecosystem.
  • EU Global Gateway: Mobilizes €300 billion, with funds for CRM MOUs.
  • India: Pursuing offtake agreements with Australia and collaboration with the US.
• Challenges:
  • Unilateral policies often fragment CRM markets.
  • Concerns about supply dependency and resource nationalism.
  • Need for transparency and fair value creation for local communities.

2. Employing Regional Integration

• AfCFTA as a Key Initiative: The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is a major regional integration effort that could help unlock investment in downstream mineral activities.
• Participating Countries:
  • DRC (cobalt, copper), Gabon (manganese), Ghana (manganese), Madagascar (cobalt), South Africa (manganese), Zimbabwe (lithium), Zambia (copper).
• AfCFTA Implementation:
  • Trade in Goods: Includes the Protocol on Trade in Goods, GTI, and the Automotive Task Force.
  • Trade in Services: Enables cross-border movement of skilled labor and expertise, promoting regional value addition.
  • Investment Protocols: Article 6 (joint investment promotion), Article 7 (investment facilitation), Article 25 (labor and environment), and Article 26 (climate) offer opportunities to promote sustainable and transparent investment.
• Challenges and Opportunities:
  • Investor Appetite: Needs targeted interventions to improve investment attractiveness.
  • Value Addition: Requires more research to understand how regional agreements can support value addition in the mineral sector.
  • Dispute Resolution: AfCFTA includes a dispute-settlement mechanism to address trade-related conflicts.

3. Accelerating Development Programmes

• Importance of ESG Standards: Sustainability is a central theme, with a need for shared ESG standards and due diligence mechanisms to ensure responsible mining and processing.
• Regional Focus:
  • The AfCFTA Secretariat has prioritized four key value chains: agro-processing, automotive, pharmaceuticals, and transportation and logistics.
  • There is a growing desire for domestic processing of minerals, which could lead to greater economic benefits.
• Existing Initiatives:
  • The SMET platform has identified 30 risks and 25 strategies to address them, with a focus on 10 high-priority actions.
  • UN Processes: Two ongoing UN initiatives aim to ensure that CRM growth leads to just and sustainable supply chains.
• Need for Collaboration:
  • Regional integration, such as AfCFTA, can help create more attractive investment environments.
  • Public-private dialogue is essential to align policies with market signals and global trends.

Conclusion

The increasing demand for CRMs, especially for clean-energy technologies, presents significant development opportunities for resource-rich countries. However, realizing these benefits requires careful policy design, investment facilitation, and regional cooperation. The paper emphasizes the importance of transparency, sustainability, and value addition in CRM partnerships and highlights the potential of regional integration initiatives like AfCFTA to foster more resilient and competitive mineral value chains. It also underscores the need to strengthen and align existing development programmes with global market dynamics and ESG considerations.

Key Takeaways

• Investment-focused partnerships are the most common, but policy and data-driven arrangements are also critical.
• AfCFTA has the potential to enhance regional mineral value chains, but more work is needed on how to implement it effectively.
• ESG standards are becoming a central component of CRM trade discussions, with a need for shared principles and due diligence mechanisms.
• Value addition should not come at the expense of environmental or social costs.
• Regional integration and public-private dialogue are vital to creating sustainable and just development outcomes from CRM trade.

Annexes Overview

• Annexe 1: Provides examples of CRM partnerships and summarizes relevant unilateral legislation.
• Annexe 2: Details potential provisions for value addition, including ESG standards and due diligence.
• Annexe 3: Explores AfCFTA implementation for CRM investment, including areas for focus and collaboration.

Contributors and Endnotes

• The paper is produced by the World Economic Forum's Climate Trade Zero project and the SMET platform.
• It draws on insights from business, international organizations, academia, and think tanks, including a March 2024 workshop.
• Endnotes reference various studies and reports, including those from the IEA, IRENA, and the WTO, highlighting the complexity and global significance of CRM trade.