Critical Minerals and the Energy Transition: Challenges and Opportunities in Extractive Governance

Workshop Summary

As global efforts to transition to cleaner energy intensify, the demand for critical minerals such as lithium, cobalt, and rare earths has increased. This development raises pressing legal, ethical, and governance questions around sustainable extraction, responsible sourcing, and global equity. This hybrid workshop, supported by the SLS the Law School and Climate Crisis Fund, brings together leading experts to critically examine the role of critical minerals in facilitating the energy transition. The workshop will explore the legal, geopolitical, and justice dimensions of extractive governance, with a particular emphasis on the intersection between mineral exploitation and sustainable development.

Themes

Regulatory and licensing frameworks for mineral extraction
Extractive due diligence, supply chains, and contractual arrangements in extraction and processing activities
Justice perspectives in resource governance in the Global North and the Global South
Geopolitical dynamics and the role of state and non-state actors in the governance of critical minerals.

Panellists

Dr Milton Montoya (Director, Department of Mining Law, Universidad Externado de Colombia; Of Counsel, Holland & Knight)
Dr Oladiran Bello (Executive Director, Good Governance Africa)
Hon. Justice Oluwole Dawodu (Judge, Lagos High Court, Nigeria)
Isaiah Oreweme (Partner, PAC Solicitors)

Moderators

Dr Smith Azubuike (Durham Law School)
Dr Adebola Adeyemi (Durham Law School)