Biominerals are the cornerstone of a clean energy economy

The President of the World Green Economy Organization (WGEO), Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, stressed that the transition towards a future capable of adapting to climate change is not only an environmental challenge, but rather a fundamental economic transformation, and that vital minerals form the cornerstone of the clean energy economy, as all green economy initiatives such as solar panels, wind turbines, electric vehicle batteries, and electrical grid infrastructure depend on them.

This came in his keynote speech during the activities of the London Climate Action Week 2026, which was attended by members of the delegation of the World Green Economy Organization, and organized by the Commonwealth Secretariat and the World Green Economy Organization (WGEO), under the title “Building Cooperative Pathways Toward Sustainable Prosperity,” at the Marlborough House headquarters in the British capital, London.

Al Tayer said that achieving a carbon-neutral future under the Paris Agreement requires more than just reducing emissions, and requires working to direct financing in line with a path that leads to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and reducing the carbon footprint to promote development capable of adapting to climate change, which means directing public and private capital towards responsible value chains for vital minerals from exploration to recycling, while ensuring that these investments do not lead to the establishment of carbon-intensive or socially harmful practices.

He added that vital minerals represent resource-rich Commonwealth countries with an unprecedented opportunity to advance green manufacturing, build industrial capabilities, attract quality investments, enhance local innovation, and diversify economies.
He explained that achieving this opportunity requires strong governance, strategic partnerships, and shared value across the entire supply chain, pointing out that failure to do so made previous extraction cycles leave resource-rich countries with depleted assets without achieving true sustainable development.

Al Tayer praised the work of the United Nations Secretary-General’s team on transition minerals in the field of bioenergy, which developed seven guidelines for fair, sustainable and transparent value chains for minerals, including benefit-sharing and the circular economy, noting that the Commonwealth Secretariat and the World Green Economy Organization are natural partners in applying these principles and translating global standards into tangible local practices.

At the conclusion of his speech, Al Tayer stressed that the green transition represents one of the most important development opportunities of our time, calling for stronger partnerships, responsible investments, local innovation, and real benefits for societies, to ensure that vital minerals contribute not only to achieving global climate goals, but also to building more diversified, resilient and inclusive economies, which are the common denominators that unite the Commonwealth Secretariat and the World Green Economy Organization.

The events witnessed the organization of a panel discussion that brought together representatives of the World Green Economy Organization (WGEO), the Intergovernmental Forum on Mining, Minerals and Sustainable Development (IGF), the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW), the International Council on Mining and Minerals (ICMM), and the International Trade Center (ITC), along with a technical expert from the Commonwealth Secretariat.

There was an extensive discussion on the main topics that focused on exploring economic opportunities, enhancing aspects of international cooperation, and seizing the opportunities of vital minerals as an essential source of the economic transformation towards green manufacturing, while working to enhance the role of the Water, Energy, Technology and Environment Exhibition (WETEX), which is organized annually by Dubai Electricity and Water Authority, as a leading global platform for green business and sustainable partnerships, as well as strengthening joint cooperation within the Commonwealth countries by activating the Commonwealth Minerals Alliance.