关键原材料可持续生产的最佳实践

E/ESCWA/CL1.CCS/2025/Policy brief.3 Background socioeconomic inequalities. To support this shift, theSecretary General’s United Nations Working Group onTransforming the Extractive Industries for SustainableDevelopmentis working to supportthe Secretary-General’s Panel on Critical Energy TransitionMineralstoleverage the full capacity of the United Nations systemto develop and deploy solutions to these challenges. Critical raw materials form the foundation of moderntechnologies essential for energy transition, digitalinfrastructure and strategic industries. As the globalshift toward a low-carbon economy accelerates,ensuring the secure, sustainable and equitableproduction of critical raw materials has becomean urgent international priority. However, currentproduction systems face complex challenges,including fragmented governance, inconsistentresource classification standards, limited supply chaintransparency, environmental degradation and growing Critical raw materials such as phosphates, potash,cooper, rare earth elements and lithium are essentialfor industrial development and low-carbon transitions This policy brief outlines the best practices for thesustainable production of critical raw materialsthrough six core pillars: policy and regulatoryframeworks, technological innovation, value chainoptimization, circular economy strategies, capacity-building and social inclusion, and sustainable financingmechanisms. The report highlights best practicesto align resource production with the SustainableDevelopment Goals (SDGs) and to strengthen long-term climate resilience. in the Arab region. However, water scarcity,investment constraints, environmental concerns,unsustainable value chains, access to technology andskills gap challenge the sector’s sustainability. The United Nations Economic and Social Commissionfor Western Asia (ESCWA) supports countries in theArab region in integrating sustainable productionprinciples for critical raw materials. These effortsaim to enhance governance, attract investment, andensure sustainable resource management. 1.Policy and standards framework as a key reference for carbon footprint accountingand resource sustainability assessments. The UnitedNations Framework Classification for Resources(UNFC)1and theUnited Nations Resource ManagementSystem(UNRMS)offer a comprehensive structure forsustainable resource governance by systematicallyintegrating environmental, social and economic factorsinto resource assessments. China, India, Mexico, Polandand Ukraine have already integrated UNFC into theirnational resource classification systems for minerals,fossil energy and other resources and internationalstandardization efforts are underway. To improveconsistency and decision-making quality, it is essentialto integrate UNFC into national reporting systems andextend its application to secondary raw materials andcritical minerals needed for energy transition. A.Unified resource managementsystem 1.Establish resource classification anddata standards Analysis of critical raw materials is constrained byfragmented data, inconsistent resource valuationstandards, and difficulties in policy coordination.The coexistence of international and local standardshas led to non-comparable data across borders,undermining supply chain resilience and potentiallycausing underestimation of raw material shortages.A unified standard would not only enhancetransparency in resource evaluation but also serve Critical raw material governance improve efficiency and support data-driven decision-making. Well-designed capacity-building programmesare crucial to ensure that countries, especially thosewith limited technological infrastructure, can engagein a globally integrated critical raw material reportingand governance system. 2.Develop digital national/internationalreporting system interfaces for seamlessdata integration Modern resource governance requires accurate andreal-time data collection and reporting. The currentlandscape, marked by fragmented national systems,non-standardized reporting mechanisms and limitedinteroperability, requires urgent improvement. Thisfragmentation undermines global efforts to monitorthe flow of critical raw materials, assess supplychain vulnerabilities, and formulate effective policyresponses. Initiatives such as theEuropean GeologicalData Infrastructure2and various mineral intelligenceplatforms have demonstrated the feasibility ofcross-border digital resource reporting. Theseinitiatives highlight the potential of blockchain andartificial intelligence (AI) technologies to enhancedata integration and reliability. To build on thesefoundations, standardized digital interfaces shouldbe developed that enable seamless, secure andinteroperable data sharing between national andinternational platforms. This includes the creation ofinteroperable application programming interfaces(APIs) that have a growing number of uses within themining industry and can help to modernize operations, B.Envir