From Resolution to Action: Strengthening Environmental Law and Governance for Minerals and Metals

Nairobi, Kenya, 8 September 2026: UNEP convened the first dialogue under UNEA Resolution 7/3 on Strengthening International Cooperation on the Environmentally Sound Management of Minerals and Metals. Held as a special event in the margins of the 13^th Annual Subcommittee Meeting of the Committee of Permanent Representatives, the dialogue brought together representatives from governments, business and industry, Indigenous Peoples, and civil society to explore practical approaches to improving environmental law and governance across the minerals and metals value chain.

Under the theme From Resolution to Action: Strengthening Environmental Law and Governance for Minerals and Metals, participants examined how legal frameworks, institutions, voluntary standards and international partnerships can support responsible mineral development while meeting the growing demand for minerals and metals required for the global clean energy transition.

A recurring point was that the challenge is not only designing strong environmental laws and policies, but ensuring their effective implementation and enforcement. Participants highlighted persistent gaps in institutional capacity, monitoring, enforcement, accountability mechanisms and access to reliable environmental data. Strengthening institutions, particularly at regional and local levels, was widely identified as a prerequisite for responsible mining and sustainable resource management.

The dialogue also underscored the importance of meaningful stakeholder participation and local benefit sharing. It was emphasized that responsible minerals governance should be grounded in human rights, transparency and inclusive decision-making processes, with particular attention to Indigenous Peoples’ rights, customary tenure systems and the implementation of free, prior and informed consent (FPIC).

Discussions further explored the need for greater international and regional cooperation to address transboundary challenges, strengthen regulatory capacity and facilitate knowledge-sharing. Participants pointed to opportunities for synergies through existing initiatives and platforms, including improved traceability and transparency across supply chains, stronger collaboration between producing and consuming countries, and greater alignment among standards and governance frameworks.

Other topics raised during the dialogue included the environmental and social impacts associated with artisanal and small-scale mining; the role of markets, investments and incentives for sustainable mining; and the potential of digital knowledge platforms and technical cooperation mechanisms.

The dialogue highlighted that responsible and resilient value chains are essential for achieving sustainable development and supporting the clean energy transition. It also established an important foundation for continuous international engagement to help translate existing commitments into action and achieve ambitious goals. 

While participants reflect on the fruitful discussion held in Nairobi, preparations are already underway for the second dialogue, titled From Resolution to Action: Advancing Circularity and Material Efficiency Across Minerals and Metals Value Chains, which will take place on 14 October 2026, from 09:00 to 10:30 CEST on the margins of the 22^nd Annual General Meeting of the Intergovernmental Forum on Mining, Minerals, Metals and Sustainable Development (IGF), at theWorld Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) headquarters (Room NB.0 107) Geneva, Switzerland and online.

The dialogue is expected to bring together an equally as diverse range of partners to:

• Deepen shared understanding of circularity and material efficiency across the full life cycle of minerals and metals;

• Discuss initial findings on business cases for circularity and exchange experiences with relevant policies, regulations, business models, technologies and practices;

• Identify barriers to implementation and explore how circularity can support value addition, economic diversification, decent work and benefit-sharing while avoiding burden shifting; and

• Identify priorities for international cooperation and practical inputs for subsequent events in this dialogue series, including synergies with the UN Task Force on Critical Energy Transition Minerals.

UNEP and the LEAP Platform team invite you to stay tuned for further information.