The Bureau of Energy Resources and the Intergovernmental Forum on Mining (IGF) held a meeting of the Energy Resource Governance Initiative (ERGI) on 28 October in a virtual format to highlight the resources dedicated to the initiative, as well as a dialogue around current and future objectives. The Assistant Secretary of State for Energy Resources, Francis Fannon, was added by representatives of the founding partners of ERGI: Australia, Botswana, Canada and Peru; senior representatives from fifteen additional countries also joined, including Argentina, Brazil, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chile, Colombia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ecuador, Japan, Republic of Korea, Norway, Philippines, South Africa, Sweden and Zambia . ; and the European Commission.
The discussion reinforced the importance of resilient, diverse and well-controlled critical energy supply chains for critical energy. ERGI focuses on the minerals and metals that enable advanced batteries and renewable energy technologies and promotes mining that complies with labor laws, respects the environment and benefits host countries and their citizens. The ERGI Toolkit (www.ERGI.tools) has been expanded and is a resource for countries looking to move to better mining practices, offering excellent case studies of how mining is done well in different contexts. Technical assistance in support of ERGI has also been expanded, and since October 2019, the United States has allocated approximately $ 10.5 million to advance ERGI’s objectives and help countries better manage their mining sector. This autumn meeting of ERGI is an example of the growing call for secure supply chains and highlights the significant impact of a diverse coalition of countries to adopt best practices and the promise of ERGI’s continued efforts.
US International Development Agency
Press Relations Office
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