Investing sustainably in energy transition minerals

This webinar took place on the 25th of November, 2024. You can catch up on the recording below.

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*New speaker announced - Wale Shonibare, Director - Energy Financial Solutions, Policy and Regulation at the African Development Bank will be joining the panel.

The global energy transition is driving the need for substantial investment into critical raw materials such as lithium, nickel, cobalt, copper, and manganese. Capital is required along the entire value chain to support the transition away from fossil fuels and the facilitation of the global electrification. However, significant barriers remain to responsible investment into the mining industry, such as regulatory uncertainty and standards divergence, a narrow set of financial instruments, historic distrust on environmental and social issues of mining, and limited traceability of critical minerals value chain.

Join us for a discussion of these barriers and potential opportunities identified in conversations with key industry stakeholders and captured in a study commissioned by the Green Purposes Company, a shareholder in Macquarie's Green Investment Group.

The webinar will focus on:

  • Summary of findings of the report
  • A conversation about the findings
  • Next steps
  • How is SLR / RCS supporting the energy transition
  • Q&A

Who is this webinar for?

  • Investors
  • Representatives from financial institutions
  • Those seeking to raise sustainable finance for project development for renewable energy and mining

Speakers:

Maria – Yassin Jah - Transition Finance Lead at SLR

Maria-Yassin’s professional experience over the past 16 years has been focussed on the intersection between sustainable finance, the energy / commoditiessector and sustainable development. She has held a range of strategically focused in-house commercial roles as well as consulting positions and has in-depth knowledge of the energy and commodities industry (particularly energy commodities, agriculture, metals / minerals) and its financing needs at various points along global supply chains. Maria-Yassin has supported organisations on both sides of investment transactions; helping investees to effectively embed ESG strategies to generate positive socio-economic impact to meet investor, regulatory, market and community expectations as well as investors with ESG due diligence activities.

Maria-Yassin’s work has thus been guided by leading sustainable finance and responsible investment frameworks and policies, such as the UNPRI, the IFC Performance Standards, the Equator Principles and other regional ESG standards and regulatory requirements that directly and indirectly affect the investment community and commodities sector, such as the EU Taxonomy and the OECD Due Diligence Guidelines for Responsible Mineral Supply Chains.

She has extensive experience working and supporting clients in several European, African and Asian countries, including Sweden, Norway, Germany, France, Switzerland, the UK, The Gambia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Ghana, Togo, Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda, Namibia, Indonesia, China and Japan.

Njomza Miftari - Project Manager – Responsible Sourcing Advisory

Njomza is a Project Manager in RCS' Responsible Sourcing Advisory Unit - now part of SLR - who has engaged with various clients from both the upstream and downstream on their responsible sourcing journey. She has advised clients on complex issues such as responsible mining standards, traceability, human rights due diligence and sustainable finance. Njomza has a strong background in policy development, human rights, and project coordination. In addition to her practical experience, she holds a Master's degree in Human Rights from Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg

Ben Lepley - Mining ESG Consultant at SLR

Ben (MESci, CGeol, MIMMM) is a Mining ESG Consultant and former practicing Resource Geologist with 16 years experience in the mineral exploration and mining industry. His work involves embedding ESG concepts and processes into mineral and mining project development and assisting clients in implementing positive change. He manages multi-disciplinary teams for technical studies including early-stage exploration project scoping studies to operational mine competent persons reports and rehabilitation and closure plans.

Wale Shonibare - Director - Energy Financial Solutions, Policy and Regulation at the African Development Bank

Wale Shonibare has over three decades experience spanning Asia, Europe, Middle East and Africa in Investment Banking and Consulting. He joined the African Development Bank (AfDB) in 2017 as the inaugural Director responsible for Energy Financial Solutions, Policy and Regulation. The Financial Solutions team has since established itself as a leading transactions team across Africa, having undertaken several Mandated Lead Arranger roles and facilitated total investment of approximately USD 29 billion in numerous projects ranging from solar PV, concentrated solar, hydro-electric dams, gas-fired power plants, LNG facilities, battery storage solutions and geothermal energy plants. The Policy, Regulation and Statistics team has, under his leadership, launched well-acclaimed flagship initiatives such as the Electricity Regulatory Index to improve the enabling environment for private sector investment in the energy sector.

Wale is currently a Non-Executive Director on the Board of the Africa Guarantee Fund, and an Advisory Board Member of the Nigeria Infrastructure Debt Fund and Inspired Evolution Investment Management respectively. Prior to joining the AfDB, he held various senior management-level positions at Investment Banks and Consulting Organisations in the UK, UAE and Nigeria.

Paul Ekins - Professor of Resources and Environmental Policy, UCL Institute for Sustainable Resources and Green Purposes Company Trustee

Paul Ekins has a Ph.D. in economics from the University of London and is Professor of Resources and Environmental Policy at the UCL Institute for Sustainable Resources at University College London. Paul Ekins’ academic work, published in numerous books, articles and scientific papers, focuses on the conditions and policies for achieving an environmentally sustainable economy. He is a Trustee of the Green Purposes Company. He is also a member of UNEP’s International Resource Panel (IRP), and was a co-author of the IRP’s report on Minerals Governance (2020) and is the lead author of the IRP’s forthcoming report on financing the responsible production of energy transition minerals. In the UK New Year’s Honours List for 2015 he received an OBE for services to environmental policy.