Geneva Dialogues on Mineral and Metal Resources

The Geneva Dialogues on Mineral and Metal Resources aim at outreaching and creating synergies among actors in Geneva and beyond, highlighting efforts made by intergovernmental organizations and governments, businesses, the scientific community, civil society and individuals in the hope of informing and creating stronger synergies and coordinated actions. The dialogues will also look at what the different stakeholders have achieved at all levels, present the latest research and governance options.

About the Dialogues

Minerals and metals play a central role in the global economy, as they provide the raw materials we need for industrial processes and daily use. Despite enormous efforts to decouple economies from resource use, the extraction of mineral resources has increased markedly in recent decades and, over the last decade, at a faster rate than economic growth. This trend is forecasted to steadily increase in the future, as we struggle to meet the mineral resource needs of a growing global population.

The topic of sustainable management of minerals has never been so high on the global political environment agenda and the reason is that minerals are essential for the future. The energy transition, infrastructure and digitalization processes, among others, represent greener solutions. However, unsustainable extraction, manufacturing, use and disposal of resources is having important detrimental impacts on people and the planet. With an expected 500 per cent increase in the demand for minerals (from 2018 production levels), environmental challenges are going to be even more acute.

The sixth session of the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA-6) adopted a resolution on the environmental aspects of minerals and metals (UNEP/EA.6/Res.5) marking an important step in global efforts towards sustainable resource management, emphasizing the importance of the sustainable management of mineral and metal resources in contributing to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. It underscores the need for enhanced action to support environmentally sustainable practices in the mineral and metal sector.

Various actors in Geneva are engaged in ensuring enhanced action to support the environmental sustainability management of minerals and metals along their full lifecycle. As Geneva is at the center of numerous debates and negotiations in the fields of science, health, human rights, development, trade and green finance, employment, peacebuilding and security, disaster risk reduction, humanitarian response, nature conservation, chemicals and pollution, as well as new technologies and innovation, the dialogues can be a conducive platform to explore interlinkages between these topics and mineral and metal resources governance.

The dialogues are organized by the Geneva Environment Network in partnership with Switzerland, Senegal, UNEP/GRID-Geneva, UNECE, the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD), the Intergovernmental Forum on Mining, Minerals, Metals and Sustainable Development (IGF), The Forum on Trade, Environment, & the SDGs (TESS) and the World Resources Forum.

In addition to the dialogues, the regularly updated webpage on Mineral Resource Governance and the Role of Geneva serves as a communication tool to increase the visibility of the environmental aspects of minerals and metal resources agenda and the role of the various institutions in the region.

Mineral Resource Governance and the Role of Geneva

First Series of Dialogues

The first series of dialogues was launched in February 2025. Although the dialogues target stakeholders from all continents, they aim to encourage increased engagement of the international Geneva community in the run-up to various global environmental negotiations and conferences:

58th Session Human Rights Council | 24 February – 4 April 2025
30th Session of the International Seabed Authority (Part I) | 17 – 28 March 2025
UNECE Resource Management Week (including 16th Session of the Expert Group on Resource Management) | 24 – 28 March 2025
Trade and Development Commission, fifteenth session | 28 April 2025 – 2 May 2025
Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions 2025 COPs | 28 April – 9 May 2025
59th Session Human Rights Council | 16 June – 11 July 2025
UN Ocean Conference 2025 | 9 – 13 June 2025
30th Session of the International Seabed Authority (Part II) | 7 – 25 July 2025
World Resource Forum 2025 | 2 – 3 September 2025
60th Session Human Rights Council | 9 September – 9 October 2025
6th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Minamata Convention on Mercury (COP-6) | 3 – 7 November 2025
IGF Annual General Meeting | 3 – 6 November 2025
14th UN Forum on Business and Human Rights | 24 – 26 November 2025
UN Climate Change Conference – Belém (COP30) | 10 – 21 November 2025
7th session of the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA-7) | 8 – 12 December 2025

Launch Event

The launch event of the Geneva Dialogues on Mineral and Metal Resources took place on 13 February 2025 at the International Environment House I.

All Events

Sand and Sustainability: An Essential Resource for Nature and Development | Report Launch

13 May 2026, 15:00 – 17:00 CEST

Palais des Nations, Room XII

Navigating Global Sustainability Standards in the Mining Sector | Geneva Dialogues on Mineral and Metal Resources | UNECE Resource Management Week Side Event

30 April 2026, 13:45 – 15:00 CEST

Palaist des Nations, Room XVI

The International Seabed Authority: Governing the Common Heritage of Humankind, Protecting the Marine Environment, and Regulating Deep-Sea Mining

4 February 2026, 13:00 – 14:00 CET

CAV, Varambé 1

Just Transition and Human Rights | Reducing Dependence on New Mineral Resource Extraction | HRC59 Side Event

1 July 2025, 13:00 – 14:00 CEST

Palais des Nations, Room XXIV & Online

Role of Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions in Sustainable Circular Models for Minerals and Metals | Geneva Dialogues on Mineral and Metal Resources | 2025 BRS COPs Side Event

5 May 2025 | 13:15 – 14:30 CEST

CICG & Webex