Critical Minerals for Energy Transition in the Arctic: Youth Perspective (UNECE Resource Management Young Member Group, CYMG, ReGeneration 2030, BRICS YEA)

The event will feature the key takeaways from the UNECE EGRM RMYMG Guidebook on Critical Minerals for Sustainable Energy Transition to Support Intergenerational Action, as well as voices from young experts of the RMYMG and the UN Secretary General's Panel on Critical Energy Transition Minerals announced at COP28. It is by joining forces with youth that we can deliver on this issue and make intergenerational action work.

Climate change is a global challenge that requires a significant shift towards low-carbon energy technologies. Clean energy transitions contribute to curbing greenhouse gas emissions and decarbonizing our industrial systems, keeping the 1.5 Goal of the Paris Agreement within reach. However, current climate and energy policies remain highly resource-intensive: it is expected that by 2040, the demand for critical minerals will increase fourfold if the world is on track to achieve net zero.

This specifically concerns pristine natural environments stewarded by Indigenous communities, such as the Arctic region which holds significant critical raw materials deposits, both on land and under the seabed. If managed responsibly, critical minerals might become a new backbone of sustainable economic growth, benefiting communities in the Arctic. On the other hand, if no common approach prevails, there is a risk for our climate ambition to cause more environmental pollution through mining, processing, and disposing of critical minerals.

This challenge reminds us again of the pressing need for international cooperation with intergenerational equity at its core. To inform the debate and enable meaningful change, young professionals from the Resource Management Young Member Group of the UNECE Expert Group on Resource Management have convened this session for intergenerational action. The main idea behind this event is to make the energy transition in the Arctic truly clean and just, while embedding intergenerational equity in resource management.

The EGRM Resource Management Young Member Group (RMYMG) initiative began in 2020 to promote intergenerational equity in the energy and resource industries within the framework of sustainable resource management.

Moderator:

• Arsenii Kirgizov-Barskii, RMYMG, BRICS YEA

Speakers:

• Sara Olsvig, Chair of the Inuit Circumpolar Council
• Suneeta Kaimal, NRGI (TBC)
• Kristi Disney Bruckner, IRMA
• Natalia Mrowczynska, Project Coordinator at RMYMG, Board Member at ReGeneration 2030
• Sicily Zheng, UNECE Energy Youth Group
• Anna Loginova, Expert of the International Cooperation Department, Russian Energy Agency, BRICS YEA Young Expert Group on Resource Management and Critical Minerals for Energy Transition (RMCM)
• Hugo Bernat, Events & Activities lead at Nuclear for Climate, Tractebel (ENGIE Group)