A large open-pit mining operation in Africa, highlighting resource extraction and economic development.
The global rush for critical minerals powering the green transition is beginning to mirror the extractive patterns of past empires, with powerful nations once again shaping rules to serve their own interests. From new US-led supply clubs to initiatives dominated by institutions like the World Bank and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, governance remains firmly tilted toward the Global North. A Green New International Economic Order would require the Global South to gain sovereign control over resources and access to processing technologies—echoes of the failed 1970s New International Economic Order that collapsed under Northern pressure and internal Southern tensions. Today’s challenge is managing the inherent conflict between resource nationalism and collective action, with China’s role particularly crucial given its dominance in mineral extraction and processing. Yet China’s response has remained overwhelmingly nationalist despite proclaiming Global South solidarity, leaving critical minerals governed by anarchic competition between rival powers when coordinated global governance is desperately needed for genuine planetary transformation.
Africa.com