As COP29 in Azerbaijan draws to a close, Norge Mining’s Chairman and CEO, John Vergopoulos, has joined 116 business executives in signing an open letter calling on world leaders for transformative policies and actions to accelerate emissions reductions.
Co-organised by the First Movers Coalition (FMC), an initiative launched by the World Economic Forum in partnership with the U.S. Government and leading corporations, the letter says every fraction of a degree counts in the race to net zero.
Norge Mining is a member of the FMC, which brings together businesses committed to deploying their purchasing power and innovation to increase demand for clean, sustainable technologies.
The letter contains the signatures of companies and senior executives from the Alliance of CEO Climate Leaders, that represents $4 trillion in revenues and 12 million employees.
How responsible mining is shaping the future
The mining sector has a significant role to play in creating a cleaner, greener world. Without the production of Critical Raw Materials (CRMs) that come from the ground, there can be no renewable energy technologies.
But the extraction and processing of CRMs are often associated with heavy carbon use which is why the responsible resource production to be deployed by Norge Mineraler is so important in ensuring a balance between meeting demand and minimising environmental harms.
Furthermore, our deposit of phosphate, vanadium and titanium is in Norway, a country known for its renewable energy. We will use green electricity from the Norwegian grid to power business operations. This, combined with other responsible practices, results in a far lower carbon footprint than that seen in countries with poor environmental standards.
Closing the gaping emissions ambition gap
The open letter delivered to the COP29 summit calls for urgent action from governments and the private sector to ensure the world can limit global warming to 1.5°C by closing the emissions reduction ambition gap.
This gap highlights the huge shortfall in current efforts and the additional actions necessary to avoid the worst impacts of climate change. The letter makes the following policy asks to regulators and decision-makers:
1. Develop ambitious, credible and investable Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs)
Governments need to upgrade their NDCs and international collaboration to close the ambition gap. The most recent Global Stocktake shows that NDCs only provide for 5% emissions reductions by 2030, far short of the 43% needed.
2. Scale up climate finance from billions to trillions and de-risk private capital flows
The developing world needs $5.8-5.9 trillion for climate finance by 2030. The New Collective Quantified Goal, a forthcoming climate finance target, must be substantially increased to help countries most at risk. Efficiently mobilising private capital at scale is also important but needs robust risk management mechanisms.
3. Remove transition obstacles to deliver on COP28 pledges
The amount of renewable energy projects waiting for permits is currently five times higher than installed capacity. This is especially so for wind and grid energy, with 80 million km of additional green grid infrastructure needed by 2040. To meet COP28 pledges and ensure that energy demand is not met by new carbon-emitting fossil fuel investments, it is essential to ease the permits backlog.
4. Support breakthrough technologies to reach commercial scale and complement cost-competitive solutions
An estimated 30% of key mitigation technologies still face significant cost disadvantages. Scaling these is crucial to achieving industrial decarbonisation.
A greener way to growth
The FMC is also using COP29 to launch a call to action on Green Public Procurement in carbon-intensive industries like construction.
As well as hoping to galvanise public policies to prevent further global warming, it aims to strengthen the business case for rapid decarbonisation of operations and value chains in all sectors across the world. The active involvement of the mining sector is fundamental in driving these efforts. By collaborating through initiatives like the FMC, we can lead by example, showcasing how sustainability and economic growth can not only coexist, but thrive together.
