The demand for critical energy transition materials such as copper, lithium and cobalt is on the rise due to the expansion of clean energy technologies. Credit: Unsplash/Lj. Filipović
By Maximilian Malawista
UNITED NATIONS, Jul 2 2026 (IPS)
Demand for critical energy transition minerals (CETMs) is expected to surge over the coming decades as countries expand clean technology capacity, develop electric vehicles, create battery storage, implement renewable energy systems, and introduce digital infrastructure according to UNCTADs latest report, The Shifting Dynamics of Critical Minerals Trade.
CETMs include lithium, nickel, cobalt, and rare earth elements, making them vital to producing low carbon clean energy alternatives and renewable technologies used for electricity production and battery storage. These elements are also commonly found within datacenters, semiconductors, consumer electronics, and any field requiring digitalization.
According to the report, demand for lithium is projected to increase by 353 percent by 2040, followed by graphite (131 percent), nickel (69 percent), magnet rare earths (65 percent), cobalt (49 percent), and copper (28 percent).
Naturally this surge in CETM demand also has changed the composition of where CETMs are being used, with clean technologies absorbing a growing share in the industry of CETMs.
Share of Critical Mineral Demand for Clean Technologies. Credit: Maximilian Malawista / IPS
Although these CETMs are experiencing a surge in demand, from mining to processing or refining, the entire value chain is geographically concentrated between a few countries, dominating the entire global output. This same pattern also follows for reserves of key minerals, such as lithium, cobalt, nickel, and rare earth elements which are unevenly distributed among a few states.
According to UNCTAD, China accounts for 69 percent of rare earth element production, and produces 78 percent of natural graphite capacity. Indonesia accounts for 67 percent of global nickel production, while the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) accounts for 50 percent of global cobalt reserves and 47 percent of global cobalt mine production.
“Reserves” refer to mineral deposits which can be economically extracted using available technology, differing from total geological resources, which include deposits not yet commercially viable or known. Due to the situation of current reserves and mining output, only a few nations produce the majority of the capacity of critical minerals. The concentration of production and reserves leaves global supply chains highly vulnerable to geopolitical disruptions, and trade restrictions, among other shocks.
Represented is how much of the global reserves/mining output of CETMs is within just the top three countries. Credit: Maximilian Malawista / IPS
Notably, mining output is slightly more concentrated than reserves for every mineral shown, indicating that mining production is controlled by an even smaller group of countries than the resource base itself.
This means that an overwhelming amount of these materials needed for some of the most critical functions for today and for our future rely on three countries for the entire global trade to function.
UNCTAD states: “Mining is capital-intensive and characterized by long lead times, limiting short-term supply responsiveness and leaving concentrated supply chains exposed to geopolitical risks, governance challenges, and environmental and social pressures.”
While the mining process receives much of the attention, UNCTAD argues in their report that refining represents an even larger vulnerability due to processing capacity being concentrated within a even smaller number of countries.
Refining and other downstream stages are even more concentrated” than that of mining, “creating critical bottlenecks in CETM supply chains,” An UNCTAD spokesperson told Inter Press Service. “A country may possess abundant mineral reserves yet remain dependent on a small number of foreign suppliers for refining, separation, precursor materials or advanced components.” They added explaining how there are “technical know-how, industrial capabilities, infrastructure and market power”, which means that “access to mineral resources alone does not necessarily translate into secure access to supply.”
UNCTAD also highlights that the concentration is also within only a few firms, in “several critical mineral markets” where a relatively small number of companies control “significant shares of mining, processing, trading, refining and technology.”
The issue as UNCTAD points out is that refining requires substantial long-term capital investment, access to advanced technologies, significant energy inputs, and specialized infrastructure, along with being an economy of scale to be cost competitive, which creates massive barriers to entry for new players.
Because global supply is concentrated, naturally international trade is the primary mechanism through which these minerals move between countries. The UNCTAD spokesperson remarked that “Cross-border trade in ores, concentrates, refined materials, and downstream components enables access to geographically dispersed stages of production across complex global value chains, particularly in high-technology sectors.”
What this means is that most countries depend on imports of CETMs at some point of their value chain for their manufacturing or developmental needs.
While diversification of processes would be necessary to alleviate risk associated with CETMs, since 2020 restrictive export measures on CETMs have been on the rise.
Mineral-rich economies like China, Indonesia, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo are seeking to capture higher value stages of production, rather than just exporting raw materials alone. Restrictive export measures are increasingly being introduced to capture more of the downstream value, encouraging domestic refining, industrial development, and manufacturing, rather than solely relying on commodity exports.
Of these measures, licensing requirements, export taxes, and exports bans make the most common measures.
Since 2020, 37 licensing requirements, 31 export tax measures, 29 export bans, and 1 export quota have been recorded. 18 of these export measures were implemented by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, with China introducing 16 followed by Indonesia at 12. Other countries such as Burundi and the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela have introduced 8 measures each, while Zimbabwe has 7.
While at the moment supply chains are extremely concentrated and are becoming even further concentrated creating higher risk for importers, UNCTAD notes that major CETM importers such as the European Union, Japan, and the United States are adopting strategies to alleviate risk by diversifying import sources, increasing domestic capacity development, recycling, and developing strategic partnerships. In a three-year period, since 2022 such agreements in developmental stages have grown from just 15, to an addition of 58 new agreements targeting a diversification across value chains, and securing mineral access and production in a safe and future proof manner through policy.
As demand for CETMs accelerates, governments are increasingly looking at supply chains with scrutiny, seeing them as a strategic asset. While producing CETM high-capacity nations are seeking to control more value through domestic production of other stages and create more industry, major importers are moving aggressively to diversify supply sources to build more resilient supply chains. The outcome could not only decide the speed at which the global energy transition occurs, but also shape which countries will emerge as the key trading hubs and industrial powerhouses of the clean-energy economy.
IPS UN Bureau Report
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30 червня в Закарпатському угорському університеті імені Ференца Ракоці II відбулося вручення дипломів. Урочиста церемонія пройшла в Берегівській реформатській церкві. Цього року дипломи бакалавра отримали 250 здобувачів вищої освіти, а дипломи магістра – 60 випускників. Дипломи з відзнакою здобули 16 випускників освітнього ступеня «бакалавр» та 22 випускники освітнього ступеня «магістр».
Diplomaátadó ünnepség a Rákóczi EgyetemenЗа традицією цьогорічна церемонія розпочалася з внесення історичних прапорів. Потім до присутніх звернувся провідний священник Берегівської реформатської церкви Ференц Тарацкезі.
У своїй вітальній промові ректор університету Степан Черничко наголосив, що одні навчальні роки запам’ятовуються насамперед статистичними показниками, а інші стають частиною історії. За його словами, рік, що минає, належить саме до таких.
«Дорогі випускники! Протягом останніх років ви відвідували заняття, готувалися до іспитів, писали кваліфікаційні роботи. Ваш шлях був непростим: він був позначений як успіхами, так і періодами випробувань. Бували дні, коли здавалося, що найпростіше — здатися. Та ви вистояли, не дозволивши труднощам зламати себе. І саме завдяки цій внутрішній силі сьогодні ви тут. Водночас диплом про вищу освіту – це не просто документ, а свідчення того, що ви змогли пройти довгий шлях, який розпочався багато років тому»,
– зазначив він.
Після виступу ректора відбулася церемонія вручення почесних грамот закладам освіти, які працевлаштовують найбільшу кількість випускників університету, сприяючи їхньому професійному розвитку. Відзнаки отримали Берегівський ліцей імені Габора Бетлена, Великоберезький заклад загальної середньої освіти імені Добраі Петера, Берегівська гімназія імені Ганни Горват, Варівський ліцей імені Ференца Ракоці II та Великодобронський ліцей.
«Надання статусу університету — це найвище визнання багаторічної, самовідданої праці, яка вже майже три десятиліття ведеться тут, у Берегові. Її початком стало урочисте відкриття першого навчального року у вересні 1996-го, а сьогодні вона увінчалася заслуженим визнанням. Водночас цей статус є потужним посланням світові: угорська громада Закарпаття не просто бореться за своє існування, а впевнено творить власне майбутнє»,
– наголосив провідний консул Угорщини в Берегові Ласло Віда, додаючи, що Угорщина й надалі надаватиме угорській громаді Закарпаття всю необхідну підтримку.
Потім від імені випускників зі словами подяки виступила випускниця денної форми навчання спеціальності «Угорська мова та світова література» Доріна Бочкої. Згодом випускники склали урочисту присягу, текст якої зачитав випускник денної форми навчання спеціальності «Історія» Кароль Глогер.
Після оголошення інформації про кількість і категорії виданих дипломів випускники отримали заслужені дипломи з рук президентки Університету Ракоці Ільдіки Орос та ректора Степана Черничка, а урочистість моменту підсилило виконання студентського гімну.
Потім слово взяла Ільдіко Орос. У своїй промові вона наголосила, що останні роки були сповнені труднощів. Студентам довелося пройти крізь численні випробування в час і в країні, де нерідко було неможливо не лише планувати віддалене майбутнє, а й передбачити, що принесе наступний день.
«Дорогі студенти! Диплом, який ви сьогодні отримуєте, – це не просто документ, що відкриває можливості для професійної діяльності. На Закарпатті він водночас є символом вашої місії. Ця місія полягає в тому, щоб залишатися тут, а якщо життя проведе вас в інше місце, не забувати про зв’язки, які єднають вас із рідною землею»,
– наголосила президентка Університету Ракоці.
На завершення урочистостей представники історичних церков благословили присутніх.
Джерело: kme.org.ua
Фото: Kurmay Anita
The post В Університеті Ракоці відбулася урочиста церемонія вручення дипломів appeared first on Kárpátalja.ma.
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Az Airbus H145M és H225M helikopterei 2019-től új fejezetet nyitottak a magyar forgószárnyas katonai repülésben, azonban a mélypontról való kilábalás első lépéseit még 2016-ban sikerült megtenni. Ekkor érkezett Szolnokra az a két AS350B Ecureuil (Mókus) helikopter, amely korábban a hazai légimentést szolgálta. Az azóta eltelt évtizedről három olyan embert kérdeztem, akiket beosztásuknál és életkoruknál fogva más-más élmény és tapasztalat köt az Ecureuil helikopterekhez.
Az AS350B helikopterek közvetlenül a rendszerváltás után, a kilencvenes évek elején jelentek meg Magyarországon. Három ilyen gép került a légimentőkhöz, akik nagyon megszerették az üzembiztos, megbízható, egyszerű típust. Amikor 2014 novemberétől egy európai uniós szabályozás megtiltotta, hogy egyhajtóműves mentőhelikopterek lakott terület felett repüljenek, a légimentők búcsút mondtak az AS350-esnek, és teljesen átálltak a 2006 óta használt EC135-ösök üzemeltetésére. Addigra a három Mókusból kettő maradt, a legfiatalabb, 1992-es gyártású gép 2009-ben Balatonfüreden felborult.
A periódus elején listázzák és rangsorolják a teendőket, érthető, hogy a végén is át kell tekinteni az eredményeket. Csoma Botond, az RMDSz képviselőházi frakciójának vezetője jött el mérleget készíteni, ami szerinte pozitív: medvetörvény, Márton Áron-emlékév, femicid-ellenes törvény kipipálva. Házigazda: Rostás-Péter István
Articolul Ülészakleltár apare prima dată în Kolozsvári Rádió Románia.
UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina J. Mohammed with Resident Coordinators from the Latin America and Caribbean region. Credit: United Nations
By Mohammed Chiraz Baly
GENEVA, Jul 2 2026 (IPS)
A letter to staff unions from economists working in the resident coordinator system, blows the whistle on a restructuring that could damage the development pillar and downgrade support to middle income countries.
For memory, UN resident coordinators are tasked with aligning the work of different UN agencies in 162 countries with respective government priorities.
Resident coordinators don’t have funds to get agencies to work together. They rely on their powers of persuasion and importantly, their office’s analytical and data handling capacity.
They therefore have a country economist, who provides evidence-based advice to the UN country team on improving development impact and helps mobilise financing from international financial institutions. These economists also represent non-resident agencies such as mine, UNCTAD, in discussions with the government. As agencies shut their country offices, this becomes more important.
The current system has existed since 2019 and the General Assembly has asked the Deputy Secretary-General, who oversees the system, for a review.
According to the letter (there is no other source of information as the process is a tightly-guarded secret), the proposal is a restructuring that, surprisingly, reduces analytical capacity resident coordinator offices in the over 100 middle income developing countries through a blanket downgrading of economist posts, undermining resident coordinators in the process.
There doesn’t seem to be an assessment in the rushed process of different countries’ circumstances nor the situations they’re going through.
It is not clear why middle-income countries, which constitute most UN member states, are being targeted and this appears to run counter to UN policy.
DESA has warned against abandoning support for middle income countries (https://lnkd.in/edKWFJgM) noting they “are a large and heterogenous group. They differ widely in their development needs and challenges, and in their capacity to mobilise domestic and external resources.”
Rebeca Grynspan has called out the middle-income country trap.
Last month the Secretary-General warned not to judge the challenges facing countries by GDP alone (https://lnkd.in/eaB85QFg).
Although, member states have already voiced concerns with the restructuring; it is being imposed regardless, and being rushed through before they can have a further say.
A large number of staff, originating from all regions, some recruited only last year, will therefore be removed from their posts, while UN support to and ability to mobilise financing for middle income countries will be reduced.
As the restructuring is cost-neutral, the savings from cutting staff in the field would appear to then provide more posts to regional offices and at senior level, and upgrade management posts.
The letter alleges an absence of meaningful consultation with unions and resident coordinators. In some countries, the entire cadre of international and national professional staff in a country could be replaced.
There is consensus that the resident coordinator system should be improved and we know resources are limited. It’s not clear though if downgrading substantive and analytical capacity is the right solution. Perhaps a more comprehensive assessment is needed, without the ticking clock of the end of mandate, so that the fragile development pillar isn’t damaged further.
Extracts from the letter are published below :
We write as economists serving in UN Resident Coordinator’s Offices across Standard, Complex, and Multi-Country settings. We come from different regions, work in countries spanning very different development contexts and income categories, and some of us started our careers as national officers. We raise these concerns in good faith and ask for a structured dialogue before the proposals are finalised.
1. The case for economic expertise in the RC system
The RCO economist provides analytical support independent of government preference and agency programming logic — on fiscal space, debt dynamics, structural transformation, SDG financing, and trade shocks. It draws on experience across multiple country contexts and IFI networks. The seniority of the posts matters: it enables credible engagement with finance ministers, private sector counterparts, and development finance institutions — the partnerships needed to mobilise SDG financing. Abolishing those posts removes that standing. At the ECOSOC OAS in June 2026, delegations spanning the G77, the African Group, AOSIS, India, Germany, Indonesia, Pakistan, Canada, the United States, and the Republic of Korea called explicitly for “strengthening capacities in strategic planning, economic analysis, SDG financing, data, digitalization, communications, climate and resilience.” The recalibration moves in the opposite direction, weeks after that mandate was given.
• The current moment is the wrong time to reduce analytical capacity. Countries face compounding pressures: COVID-19 structural aftereffects, Russia-Ukraine trade and energy disruptions, US-Iran escalation, and a fragmenting multilateral trading system. At the ECOSOC OAS, USG Li Junhua (DESA) noted ODA fell a record 23% in 2025 and the SDG financing gap stands above USD 4 trillion. Agency analytical capacity is simultaneously contracting: UNDP has abolished its economist programme for Africa and budgets and staffing have been cut across multiple entities. As agency footprints shrink, the RCO economist is often the only independent macroeconomic analyst the RC and host government can draw on.
• The Standard RCO category is a coordination label, not an economic complexity assessment. Across the 101 Standard RCO countries, analytical complexity does not track income category. DESA, UNCTAD, and the regional commissions have all cautioned against using GDP per capita as a proxy for development support needs. Applying that filter to determine where independent economic analysis is necessary is inconsistent with the UN’s own guidance.
• Adding senior headquarters posts while cutting country capacity contradicts a direct General Assembly mandate. The recalibration creates new D2 posts at headquarters and increases regional staffing. In December 2025, paragraph 16 of GA resolution A/C.5/80/L.4 requested the Secretary-General to include proposals “with the aim to reduce or reclassify the overall number of USG, ASG, D-2 and D-1 posts markedly” under UN80. Adding D2 posts at headquarters while abolishing and nationalising field posts moves in the opposite direction. Norway at the ECOSOC OAS stated this is “not the time to weaken” the RC system. Member States including AOSIS, Pakistan, Nepal, Indonesia, Canada, and Switzerland also questioned “whether expertise-on-demand can substitute for sustained presence.” It cannot. Cross-country policy and financing work requires continuity, institutional memory, and relationships — not episodic inputs from a regional hub.
• The recalibration contradicts UN 2.0 priorities and discards a recent investment in talent. Under UN 2.0, the Secretary-General prioritised data-driven decision-making — a competency assessed in recruiting these positions — and called for international staff mobility across headquarters, regional bodies, and the field. The RCO economist role was one of the few routes enabling that rotation. Converting posts to national roles closes it off. Several colleagues joined within the past 12 to 18 months on the basis of a clear signal that country-level analytical capacity was being strengthened. Reversing course without explanation wastes the investment and will deter future talent.
2. The analytical basis for this decision does not hold
The recalibration of 130 RCOs has been summarised on a single slide with four columns — no within-category differentiation, no country-specific analysis, no assessment of capacity lost in any specific setting. The UN80 Staff Support Policy Framework (OHR/PG/2025/4, June 2025) requires that “decision-makers must provide reasons for any administrative decisions, supported by facts.” No such reasons have been provided. Income-based categories — which the UN’s own analytical bodies warn against using as a proxy for development complexity — are the primary basis for determining where independent economic analysis is needed.
3. Process concerns
• RCs were not meaningfully consulted. Engagement happened shortly before public rollout, not during the design phase. Earlier discussions reportedly included giving RCs discretion over the economist profile in their office. That option was dropped without explanation, in direct tension with the principle that country team configurations should reflect RC judgment.
• No written rationale has been provided. The town hall did not explain why economist positions are being nationalised or downgraded, why income categories are the organising variable, or how any of this improves efficiency or advances UN 2.0. Without a written rationale, staff and Member States are being asked to accept a significant structural change on trust.
• The process does not meet the Organisation’s own standards for staff consultation. Staff Regulation 8.1(a) requires “effective participation of the staff in identifying, examining and resolving issues relating to staff welfare, including conditions of work.” OHR/PG/2025/4 commits management to engage through the Staff Management Committee “on a regular and timely basis regarding proposals that will impact staff.” Staff learned of this recalibration at a town hall after the configuration was designed. Whatever engagement occurred with staff representatives fell short of these requirements — and staff at large had no involvement at all.
• The pace of implementation risks bypassing Member State oversight. ACABQ and the Fifth Committee will consider RC system funding in autumn 2026. DCO’s extrabudgetary discretion means restructuring can proceed before that review. Rushing this through before a new Secretary-General is named makes the situation harder to revisit.
4. What we are asking for
• A written rationale — including the evidence base, efficiency gains claimed, and an honest account of what analytical capacity is lost.
• Genuine RC consultation before any finalisation on the economist profile appropriate for each country context. RC discretion should be the default, not the exception.
• Structured Staff Council engagement before the configuration is operationalised, consistent with Staff Regulation 8.1 and Staff Rule 8.1(h).
• Reconsideration of the blanket approach, with scope for RCs to retain or request an international economist where conditions warrant — an option reportedly still under discussion before this proposal was finalised.
• An assessment of the HR costs — relocations, repatriations, terminations — given the RC system’s current financial constraints.
Mohammed Chiraz Baly is a staff representative and former General Secretary of the CCISUA staff union federation. He is also a data analyst at UNCTAD focusing on investment financing in developing countries.
IPS UN Bureau
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