DIDIPIO
\nAs the Philippines works to ramp up mining to meet global demand for metals crucial to the green energy transition, environmental groups are demanding strict limits to protect nature and Indigenous lands.
\nThe Philippines has the world\u2019s fourth-largest copper reserves, fifth-biggest nickel deposits and is also rich in cobalt \u2014 all of which have important uses in clean energy technologies, from lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles (EVs) to solar panels.
\nMineral requirements for renewable energy technologies must be quadrupled by 2040 to reach the goals of the Paris Agreement, and the World Bank estimates a 500 percent increase in the demand for transition minerals.
\nThat is encouraging mineral-rich countries like the Philippines, where mining is relatively undeveloped and only accounts for 1 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), to boost their production of so-called critical minerals.
\nBut with nearly two-thirds of the Philippines\u2019 mineral reserves lying on Indigenous lands, environmental and rights campaigners are demanding new legislation to limit mining activity to the minimum needed for the green energy switch.
\n\u201cMining is a necessary evil in our civilization and daily life. But we believe in mining anchored on just minerals transition, or mining what is absolutely necessary and sourcing them responsibly,\u201d said Maya Quirino, advocacy coordinator at the Legal Rights and Natural Resources Center (LRC), a local nonprofit that works for Indigenous and environmental rights.
\n\u201cFor example, gold is not essential to the energy transition,\u201d she told Context.
\nQuirino\u2019s organization is leading calls for a new mining law that would only permit the \u201cindispensable extraction\u201d of critical minerals. It also seeks to prohibit destructive open-pit mining, or mining in sensitive ecosystems, and hike taxes on the companies to give great benefits to local communities.
\nA draft bill filed by lawmakers and supported by the LRC in 2021 is still pending in Congress, but its backers are working to gain more support this year from legislators.
\nJust transition?
\nGlobally, the area covered by mines has doubled over the past three years, driven by demand for critical minerals, according to a 2023 study by LRC.
\nIn the Philippines, the group says, that has exacerbated mining\u2019s negative impacts on people and the environment \u2014 whether by depleting water supplies or forcing Indigenous peoples to move elsewhere.
\nMining projects in the Southeast Asian country have often prompted protests by Indigenous people and disputes over their land rights, and the impact of mines on the environment, including water supplies.
\nRecent examples include the Tampakan and Didipio gold and copper mines in South Cotabato and Nueva Vizcaya provinces, where local communities have protested over pollution and water shortages they blame on the mines.
\n\u201cSince 2017, we could no longer farm on my father\u2019s land because it dried up. Many farmlands here no longer function due to irrigation issues,\u201d said Myrna Duyan, a member of the Tuwali indigenous group who lives near the Australian-owned open-pit Didipio mine.
\nDuyan said some Indigenous people had been displaced by the mining, while others said it had split the community between those opposed to the mine and those who saw it as a welcome economic boost.
\nDespite the perceived economic benefits, \u201cmost of the taxes from mining goes to the national government and not to the local communities,\u201d said Quirino, whose group says the royalties paid by mining companies should be hiked.
\nUnder current laws, miners pay 4 percent in excise tax to the state and 1 percent in royalties to Indigenous communities.
\nWhile Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has vowed to overhaul the industry\u2019s tax regime, the proposed minerals management bill is not among his priority measures and he has not commented publicly on campaigners\u2019 wider demands.
\nThe bill, which seeks to raise the current excise tax and royalties to 10 percent each, also seeks heavier fines on individuals and corporations for human rights and environmental harms.
\n\u201cIf we don\u2019t have a framework anticipating the huge demand for minerals, we will only open the country to mining that only promises money but without a nuanced approach to our resources,\u201d said Quirino.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
DIDIPIO As the Philippines works to ramp up mining to meet global demand for metals crucial to the green energy transition, environmental groups are demanding strict limits to protect nature and Indigenous lands. The Philippines has the world\u2019s fourth-largest copper reserves, fifth-biggest nickel deposits and is also rich in cobalt \u2014 all of which have […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":396277,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-396258","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n