Minister for Resources and Northern Australia Madeleine King will promote Australia as a reliable supplier of critical minerals needed to support global efforts to reach net zero at the upcoming International Energy Agency (IEA) Critical Minerals and Clean Energy Summit in Paris.
On 28 September, Minister King will hold bilateral talks with her counterparts from Germany, the European Union, France, and the United Kingdom.
The talks will also involve industry representatives from across Europe and the United Kingdom, including Europe’s automotive industry, where critical minerals are highly needed to manufacture electric vehicles.
King’s trip to Europe and the UK will be a chance to highlight Australia’s efforts to diversify global supply chains and support investment in the mining and processing of key critical minerals.
“Australia has the critical minerals the world needs to help lower emissions and we have well-established export supply chains built over decades through our iron ore and gas industries,” Minister King said in a media release.
“I released Australia’s new Critical Minerals Strategy in June, which lays out Australia’s support for the industry and our plan to become a globally significant supplier of critical minerals by 2030,” the minister said.
The IEA meeting in Paris aims to provide opportunities for discussions with IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol and other ministers.
Australia is a world-leading supplier of unprocessed lithium, the world’s third-largest cobalt exporter, and the fourth-largest exporter of rare earths.
The country is also the fourth-largest mined copper and nickel exporter and a significant aluminium producer.
“The world’s clean energy transition will ride on the back of Australia’s critical minerals,” Minister King said. “Critical minerals are crucial components of clean energy technologies such as batteries for electric vehicles and energy storage, as well as for wind farms and solar panels.”
