The United Nations is bringing together unlikely global rivals — China and the United States — as part of a multinational initiative to ensure mineral-rich developing countries benefit from the rush for materials needed to build electric vehicles and renewable technologies tethered to international climate goals.
U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres on Friday announced 23 countries will take part in crafting voluntary principles to protect human rights, enforce sustainability and boost transparency as richer, mineral-hungry nations move to tap into less-developed nations awash with lithium, graphite, nickel and copper.
China and the U.S. have come together to cooperate on climate in the past, ahead of COP28 climate talks last year aimed at addressing emissions of methane and greatly scaling up investments in renewable energy. They also co-chair a working group on sustainable finance.
But the U.S.-China relationship is more contentious when it comes to mineral resources, with the U.S. working to counter some of China’s dominance over global mineral supply chains — an effort that’s been supercharged under the Inflation Reduction Act.
