On Wednesday, July 22, at 10 am PT, the Pacific Council will host a webinar to take stock of the complex and often contradictory effects of the critical minerals industry on Africa. As global demand for cobalt, lithium, copper, and rare earth elements surges, driven by the clean energy transition, the continent finds itself at the center of an extraordinary economic opportunity and an equally extraordinary set of risks. The minerals powering the world's green future are, in many cases, extracted under conditions that raise serious questions about equity, governance, and environmental stewardship.

The conversation will examine both the promise and the peril of Africa's mineral wealth, exploring how nations can move beyond raw extraction to capture greater value along the supply chain, what governance frameworks are needed to protect communities and ecosystems, and how the global scramble for minerals is reshaping Africa's economic and political agency. Attendees will hear from Kidan Araya, Founder and Director of the Africa Climate x Nature Salon, and British A. Robinson, Coordinator at Prosper Africa, Africa Chair at the Milken Institute, and Africa Senior Fellow at the Pacific Council.

Why it's important

• Processing critical minerals within Africa rather than exporting them in raw form could generate roughly 2.3 million jobs and raise continental GDP by approximately 12 percent. This offers a meaningful path toward addressing chronic unemployment, which in countries like South Africa reaches nearly 44 percent among young people. 
• Africa's vast reserves of cobalt, lithium, and copper are indispensable for the batteries and renewable energy technologies underpinning the global green transition, yet this geological abundance is complicated by a profound paradox: the very minerals enabling global decarbonization are often extracted under conditions that inflict severe environmental and socioeconomic costs on local communities.
• By the end of the decade, global demand for minerals such as lithium, cobalt, rare earths, and graphite is expected to double or even triple. As African countries continue to industrialize their mineral sectors and strengthen collective regional trade partnerships, the terms on which the West engages with the continent will come under increasing scrutiny.

To register for this webinar, visit the Zoom Registration Page.

Guest Speaker

Kidan Araya is the Founder and Director of the Africa Climate x Nature Salon, a platform that translates frontline innovation into scalable strategies that address Africa's most urgent energy and environmental challenges. 

From the rainforests of the Congo Basin to Congress in Washington, D.C., Kidan Araya has spent more than a decade working with communities, government agencies, and international organizations on environmental advocacy, policy, and communications. She is a strategist and storyteller advising at the intersections of energy, nature, critical minerals, and emerging technologies across Africa and North America. 

Kidan serves as an expert speaker for the U.S. Department of State’s U.S. Speaker Program, and she previously testified as a congressional witness before the U.S. House Financial Services Committee on the impacts of illicit natural resource trade on African communities. She was named one of the Top 10 voices communicating on climate change in Africa on Twitter by Africa No Filter.

Moderator 

British A. Robinson is a true changemaker and influencer with a passion for solving some of the world's most intractable problems. Since beginning her career in private banking and retail operations at Citibank, she has gone on to lead transformative nonprofit and government initiatives around the globe. Robinson brings a unique, dynamic combination of strategic vision, financial acumen, empathy, on-the-ground experience, energy, and a laser focus on execution to her work.

A mission-driven executive, seasoned diplomat, and development finance leader with expertise in blended finance, impact investing, and capital mobilization, she has spearheaded large-scale, innovative presidential initiatives to drive economic growth and improve public health through public-private partnerships, corporate social responsibility initiatives, government relations, advocacy, and policy to create lasting impact.

Of all the causes Robinson has had the privilege of championing, she considers the opportunity to improve lives and livelihoods in Africa her greatest passion. To that end, she has spent decades cultivating innovative partnerships that create jobs, support businesses, and establish life-saving systems and infrastructure, bolstering economic prosperity and health outcomes across the continent.

Read More

 

To register for this webinar, visit the Zoom Registration Page.