As world leaders converge for the 81st United Nations General Assembly, the environment has emerged as the defining agenda, with a new push for an Environmental Compact that links climate justice, critical minerals, and forest restoration.
This year’s Assembly comes amid record sea-level rise threatening Small Island Developing States, accelerating demand for lithium, cobalt and rare earths for the energy transition, and continued deforestation across the Global South. The UN Decade on Afforestation, championed at UNGA 81, is now positioned as a central pillar for climate mitigation and ecosystem resilience.
At the heart of the debate is a difficult balance: how to secure minerals needed for green technologies without sacrificing forests and vulnerable communities. Developing nations are demanding climate justice, insisting that countries bearing the brunt of climate change benefit from their mineral wealth and receive support for reforestation. The proposed Environmental Compact seeks to align mineral governance with environmental safeguards, ensuring that the race for a low-carbon future does not create new environmental crises.
10 Presidents who led the agenda with the following calls:
At UNGA 81 on September 21, 2026, President Tinubu chaired the 3rd Africa Minerals Strategy Group High-Level Roundtable. Represented by VP Kashim Shettima, he called for an aggressive alliance to end raw mineral exploitation, saying “For generations, Africa has furnished the materials of prosperity elsewhere.” He demanded Africa shift from supplier of raw minerals to hub for processing, refining, and battery manufacturing, warning against exporting raw and buying back finished goods at premium. He pushed the Continental Integration and Economic Assurance Declaration to secure mineral corridors and data sovereignty.
President Mahama declared “Africa will no longer be a passive arena for a new scramble for resources.” He said Africa holds critical minerals for green transition but must not repeat colonial exploitation. Mahama insisted on processing minerals at home, building local industries, and creating dignified jobs for youth. He demanded reform of international financial architecture, noting developing nations borrow at rates 8 times higher than industrialized nations to rebuild from climate disasters they did not cause, and cited AfCFTA as engine for industrial growth.
President Ruto pushed Africa’s value-addition agenda at UNGA 81, stating “Africa does not come to plead. We come with a proposal.” He argued that with vast renewable energy potential and mineral wealth, Africa must produce finished goods for clean energy and food systems. Ruto called for an end to raw exports, demanding global partnerships that support local manufacturing of fertilizers, solar panels and EV components in Africa. He linked climate justice to mineral justice, saying Africa cannot power the world’s green transition while remaining energy-poor and deforested.
President Ramaphosa presented the Critical Minerals Climate Compact at UNGA 81, linking Just Energy Transition to environmental safeguards. He called for dedicated international financing for Mpumalanga coal communities affected by coal phase-down. He demanded a global price floor for green hydrogen, platinum and manganese to ensure producing nations benefit. Ramaphosa warned that without forest protection in Mpumalanga and Limpopo, mining for transition minerals would worsen water scarcity and land degradation, urging that mineral revenues fund the UN Decade on Afforestation.
As custodian of 70% of global cobalt, President Tshisekedi demanded climate justice for the Congo Basin, the world’s second lung. At UNGA 81 he proposed that forest carbon credits from the Congo Basin be used to fund local cobalt and lithium refineries. He said DRC will no longer export raw cobalt while its forests are expected to offset global emissions for free. He called for an international moratorium on deforestation linked to mining and insisted on traceable, deforestation-free mineral supply chains.
President Hichilema focused on copper-environment nexus at UNGA 81. He showcased the Zambia-DRC Battery Value Chain as model for green industrialization. He called for UN climate finance to support sustainable copper mining that avoids deforestation in the Copperbelt. He warned that without investment in clean mining technology and afforestation around mines, the energy transition would create environmental debt in Zambia. He urged global EV manufacturers to co-invest in Zambian processing plants.
President Faye championed sea-level rise as existential threat at UNGA 81. He warned that Dakar, Saint-Louis and Saloum Delta face submersion, with saltwater intrusion destroying farmlands. He demanded the UN Decade on Afforestation include mangrove restoration as blue carbon defense. Faye called for climate justice financing for coastal adaptation and for mineral revenues from Senegal’s new zircon and lithium projects to fund mangrove replanting and resilient infrastructure for fishing communities.
President Kagame linked e-waste mineral recovery with afforestation at UNGA 81. He proposed the Kigali Circular Minerals Model, where revenues from recovered coltan, tin and tungsten from e-waste fund national forest cover to 40% by 2030. He said Africa must move from extractive to circular economy to reduce pressure on virgin forests. Kagame called for global partnership on technology transfer for green mineral processing powered by renewable energy.
President Samia highlighted protection of Eastern Arc Forests while developing nickel and graphite reserves at UNGA 81. She said Tanzania’s critical minerals must be mined under strict environmental standards to avoid deforestation and water pollution. She called for international support for sustainable mining certification and for channeling mineral royalties into afforestation and community forest management. She stressed that Tanzania will not trade forests for minerals.
President Lourenço advocated Lobito Corridor as green mineral corridor at UNGA 81. He said copper and cobalt from DRC and Zambia moved by low-carbon rail through Angola to Atlantic must meet environmental safeguards. He proposed that proceeds from corridor transit fees be earmarked for Congo Basin conservation and afforestation in drought-hit southern Angola. He called for African ownership of mineral logistics to ensure environmental and climate dividends remain in Africa. The leaders agreed on the race for a low-carbon future must not create new environmental crises in Africa.
