Office of the SpokespersonOn September 18, Under Secretary for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment Jose W. Fernandez convened U.S. government and private sector stakeholders from key sectors to discuss how to increase investment in critical minerals. This roundtable was co-organized by the Department of State's Office of Global Partnerships and the non-profit SAFE, represented by SAFE's President and CEO Robbie Diamond and Director of International Affairs Abigail Hunter. Among the U.S. government participants in the discussion were Assistant Secretary for Energy Resources Geoffrey Pyatt, Chair of EXIM Bank Reta Jo Lewis, and Special Representative for Global Partnerships Dorothy McAuliffe.Demand for critical minerals, which are essential to the clean energy transition and other technologies, is projected to expand by factors of four to six and up to 42 times more (for lithium) in the coming decades. Transparent, diverse, predictable, secure, and sustainable supply chains for critical minerals are vital to deploying clean energy technologies at the speed and scale necessary to combat climate change effectively.The convening highlights the U.S. Department of State's commitment to working with partners across the public and private sector to address challenges and create opportunities in responsible mining, processing, and recycling of critical minerals. The U.S. officials and key stakeholder participants held candid conversations about how economic and diplomatic tools, including the Minerals Security Partnership (MSP), can address the needs and concerns of private sector investors as they seek to engage with minerals projects along the value chain - including extraction, processing, and recycling - and promote investment in projects that meet high environmental, social, and governance standards.To stay updated, follow Under Secretary Fernandez on social media: Twitter@State_E, Facebook@StateDeptE, and LinkedIn@State-E.For press inquiries, please contactE_Communications@state.gov.
