Open letter to President Ajay Banga of the World Bank Group calling for extreme caution and due diligence for transition mineral mining

Ahead of the World Bank Spring meetings in Washington DC, a coalition of 40 civil society organisations, some of us in mineral-rich countries and working with mining affected communities, has written to Ajay Bang calling on the World Bank Group (WBG) to take extreme caution as it looks to extend its investments in transition mineral mining and processing. As the demand for minerals rises, so does the requirement for greater due diligence for social and environmental protection.  It is essential to uphold human rights, including Indigenous Peoples’ rights, protect the environment and to treat communities at the centre of mineral projects.

In the letter we propose here actions the World Bank can take regarding policies and processes to avoid or minimise impacts in the future, and to adopt best practice approaches. 

We recommend that the WBG should:

1. Recognise the need to minimise mineral demand through the full mineral and technology life cycles. Technological choices should look to minimise mineral consumption, choose the least impactful mineral sources, and maximise equipment lifespans. Technologies should be manufactured for easy recycling, with investment in environmentally safe recycling facilities. Energy planning must prioritise efficiency and demand management, and penalise wasteful energy use and excessive technology expansion. We recommend that the WBG adopt a coherent approach to minimising mineral demand across all sector policies.
2. Put national green industrial strategy and just transition at the centre of investments, rather than investing in export driven expansionism. Mineral-rich countries should be supported to integrate their mineral sectors into a national green industrial strategy, including a just transition plan that is fair and inclusive to everyone concerned, creating decent work opportunities and leaving no one behind. Countries should be supported to develop their own refining and processing industries and renewable technology capabilities, in a way that protects and enhances workers rights and environmental and social protections. In this way countries can capture the most value from the mineral value-chain as possible, and maintain control of resources locally. This approach would require the majority of the support for transition minerals to be delivered through the public arm of the WBG, and not the IFC or MIGA.
3. In consultation with civil society and Indigenous Peoples the WBG should commit to enhanced due diligence in mining practices. Following the lead of financial institutions in Europe, we call on the World Bank to ensure it enforces enhanced due diligence practices for all direct investments and those through financial intermediaries, which are applicable along the full mineral supply chain. This should include enhanced environmental and social due diligence, and best practice accountability for human rights, including requiring Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC) of Indigenous Peoples, with its in principle application for other land-based communities.
4. The World Bank and IFC’s accountability, safeguarding and remedy systems need to be robustly applied to all mining of transition minerals, including through financial intermediaries. Given the extractive and damaging nature of mineral mining, it will be essential to always categorise transition mineral projects (mining, processing and technical assistance)  as category A high risk projects. The forthcoming IFC Performance Standards Review presents an opportunity to re-enforce the commitment of the IFC to meet best practice, including in transition mineral operations. PS1 which requires community consultation, PS5 relating to land and resettlement, PS6 on forests and biodiversity and PS7 protecting the rights of Indigenous Peoples will be critical to ensure the protection of people and planet in mineral mining and processing projects. Past experience of mining operations has shown that other performance standards, such as on water and air pollution, and health impacts will also require particular attention at all mining operations.

Signatory organisations:

1. Recourse
2. London Mining Network
3. Fundación Ambiente y Recursos Naturales (FARN)
4. Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL)
5. AbibiNsroma Foundation
6. Bank Climate Advocates (BCA)
7. Oil Change International (OCI)
8. MenaFem Movement for Economic,Development and Ecological Justice
9. Centre for Research on Multinational Corporations (SOMO)
10. Malach Consulting
11. MiningWatch Canada
12. African Coalition on Green Growth
13. Emmaus International
14. Southern Africa Climate Change Coalition
15. Centre for Climatology and  Applied Research
16. Zimbabwe Climate Change Coalition
17. Society for Threatened Peoples Switzerland
18. Publish What You Pay (PWYP)
19. Pacific Asia Resource Center (PARC)
20. Trend Asia
21. Earthworks
22. Global Justice Now
23. re•generation
24. Inclusive Development International (IDI)
25. Green Environmental Hearts Movement
26. 11.11.11
27. Fossil Free South Africa
28. Stamp Out Poverty
29. CliMates France
30. Indus Consortium for Humanitarian, Enviormental and Development Initiative
31. Friends of the Earth US
32. SIRGE Coalition
33. Climate Generation
34. Scottish Catholic International Aid Fund (SCIAF)
35. African Climate Reality Project
36. CATAPA
37. Instituto Clima de Eleição
38. Jubilee Australia Research Centre
39. Wetlands International Europe
40. Batani Foundation