Outcomes from Climate Change Impacts on Mining Operations and Mining Territories Webinar
On Thursday, March 23, SDSN and Geopark Quadrilátero Ferrífero (an SDSN Member) organized the webinar Climate Change Impacts on Mining Operations and Mining Territories. With presentations from Dr. Paulo Artaxo, Martin Dietrich Brauch, and Dr. Renato Ciminelli, the event explored climate projections, solutions to adapt to future scenarios, and how addressing risks early can maintain competitiveness.
The event opened with remarks from Paulo Artaxo, Professor at the Universidade de São Paulo (USP) in Brazil. Dr. Artaxo presented the global impacts of climate change on humans and the ecosystems on which we depend. He emphasized that, despite annual meetings and a number of international agreements and commitments, emissions continue to rise 2-3% per year, placing the world on track for 4.5 - 7°C warming (under the moderate and severe scenario, respectively). Warming is spatially variable, with the poles experiencing particularly dramatic changes. Artaxo also described how climate change will affect rainfall, soil moisture, and agriculture globally, and increase the frequency of severe events such as droughts and floods. He warned that a child born in 2020 is going to see very severe climate change impacts in their lifetime, highlighting findings from the IPCC’s just-released report. Another issue is that climate change will further accelerate and lead to additional biodiversity loss. Artaxo called on participants to act with urgency to avoid the worst climate impacts and move towards a sustainable development trajectory.
Martin Dietrich Brauch, a Lead Researcher at the Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment (CCSI), presented on the role of legal frameworks in driving mining companies to invest in climate change mitigation and adaptation, focusing in particular on how the mining sector can support affected communities and host countries to become more resilient to the physical impacts of climate change. Mr. Brauch noted that mining activities are inherently hazardous and introduce risks and impacts that are heightened by climate change; for example, competition over water in increasingly water-stressed areas; and deforestation, which exacerbates soil erosion, landslides, and flooding. The mining sector can and should prepare for, prevent, and control these climate-related risks and impacts. Mr. Brauch presented various examples of how laws and contracts can advance climate adaptation and resilience by subjecting mining companies to obligations concerning, among others, zero deforestation; climate risk assessments and community vulnerability assessments; responsible water use; tailings dam design justifications; mine closure plans that consider climate risks and just transition aspects; and climate risk insurance. CCSI has produced a number of reports on these issues, with links available in the slides.
A lively discussion followed the presentations. The first question was to what degree are companies currently adapting to climate change. Dr. Artaxo noted that current climate models can produce results at a very fine scale, sufficient for mining companies to make decisions, and that most of the uncertainty is due to assumptions as to which mitigation trajectory humanity will follow. Mr. Brauch noted that CCSI’s analysis of investor–state mining contracts evidences that many contracts fail to embed appropriate obligations on mining companies to contribute to climate change adaptation and resilience. Dr. Ciminelli noted this could be the topic of a future webinar.
The moderator, Dr. Renato Ciminelli, President of Geopark Quadrilatero, asked if the mining sector is adequately planning for the future and inquired about the role of frameworks such as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) investing. Dr. Artaxo noted that the SDGs are designed for implementation at all scales and by all actors, and called on mining companies (and all other firms and individuals) to take them up as a mandate and implement them locally. Mr. Brauch said an ESG-based strategy is insufficient, noting that ESG ratings are vague and uncertain and focused mostly on reducing risks for the operations rather than translating into investments geared toward achieving the SDGs. Dr. Ciminelli called for more technology transfer to improve resilience, noting that there have been a lot of technologies developed in response to accidents and tragedies that can be applied globally.
One question from the floor asked how mining can supply the raw materials needed for the energy transition, bearing in mind the sector’s environmental footprint. Mr. Brauch said stronger legal frameworks are needed, not just private sector initiatives, to safeguard the environment and local communities, who also need to be involved in decision-making. He also noted the role of circular economy approaches, leading to the reuse and recycling of already extracted materials, to reduce the sector’s footprint. Dr. Artaxo noted that this is not a challenge unique to mining, and that all industries need to take note of the SDGs and global climate commitments and move us toward a better and more sustainable society. Dr. Ciminelli closed by calling on historically distinct sectors (e.g. petrochemicals, energy, and mining) to work more closely together on a just transition and for new governance and regulatory frameworks to support such a transition.
SDSN’s research and policy work on mining is led by the thematic network on Good Governance of Extractive and Land Resources.