By Desmond Davies
London, June 24, GNA – As global demand for critical minerals accelerates the shift to clean energy, vital research into how mining is affecting communities in Ghana will be officially launched at the Institute of African Studies, University of Ghana on July 3.
The project’s aim is to ensure that communities living in mining areas are included in the race to power the world’s green transition, making their voices heard in decisions about climate and development, while helping create fairer policies for the future.
The project, Justice in Critical Minerals Governance and Energy Transition, headed by a Ghanaian academic at King’s College London, Dr Clement Sefa-Nyarko, formally took off in London in March this year.
The Accra launch will bring together government officials, traditional leaders, academics, civil society organisations and mining industry representatives to address growing concerns over the social and economic impacts of the critical minerals sector.
The initiative comes at a time when countries rich in minerals needed for electric vehicle batteries, renewable energy technologies and energy storage systems are under increasing pressure to expand production, raising questions about how the benefits and burdens of mining are shared.
Organisers say the project will examine how resource-rich countries such as Ghana can pursue opportunities arising from the global energy transition while ensuring fairness, community participation and sustainable development.
Discussions at the launch will focus on the experiences of mining-affected communities, the role of indigenous knowledge and how research and policy can help create more equitable approaches to resource governance.
The project is a partnership between King’s College London, the University of Ghana and Ghana’s Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, and forms part of a broader international programme that will also involve research in Australia and Chile.
Project lead Dr Sefa-Nyarko told the GNA the initiative was designed to ensure that communities most directly affected by mining activities had a stronger voice in shaping policies around critical minerals and energy transitions.
“This project is not just about research, it is about listening, learning and working together to shape a fairer future for everyone involved in the energy transition,” he said.
Dr Sefa-Nyarko described Ghana as an important starting point for the project, noting that local experiences would help inform international debates on climate change, sustainability and resource governance.
“My hope is that this project will create a space where the already strong but often unheard voices calling for justice in energy transitions can be better recognised and amplified,” he told the GNA.
Dr Sefa-Nyarko added that the project would pay particular attention to critical minerals governance, an issue that has become increasingly central to global climate and development discussions as governments and industries seek secure supplies of minerals required for low-carbon technologies.
Supported by UK Research and Innovation funding, the programme will run until the end of 2029 and will focus on generating evidence from communities at the beginning of the critical minerals value chain.
“We are committed to co-creating knowledge that starts from the everyday realities of communities directly affected by mining activities, the people whose lives are most impacted at the very start of the critical minerals value chain,” Dr Sefa-Nyarko told the GNA.
He said the findings would contribute to policy discussions in Ghana and beyond, including future international development and sustainability frameworks.
The launch will feature keynote addresses from former Lands and Natural Resources Minister Samuel A. Jinapor, energy policy specialist Robert Sogbaji and development expert David Millar, alongside panel discussions examining how community voices, research evidence and policy innovation can help shape a more just approach to critical minerals governance.
The global initiative has been launched as governments, industry and development experts increasingly warn that the global rush for critical minerals risks repeating patterns in which resource-rich countries bear the environmental and social costs of extraction while receiving only a fraction of the economic benefits.
For Ghana, one of Africa’s leading mining nations, the project aims to contribute to a growing debate on how the country’s mineral wealth can support both national development goals and the global transition to cleaner energy while ensuring that mining communities share fairly in the benefits.
Dr Sefa-Nyarko, a lecturer in Security, Development and Leadership in Africa at the African Leadership Centre (ALC) at King’s College, was among 77 academics chosen last year by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) as part of its Future Leadership Fellowship (FLF).
The FLF provides up to seven years of funding of up to £120 million to support early career researchers.
GNA
Edited by Beatrice Asamani Savage