Person charging an electric vehicle
Statement

IISD Joins Global Battery Alliance

October 19, 2022

IISD is pleased to announce that it has joined the Global Battery Alliance (GBA) as a non-profit member. The GBA is a publicprivate collaboration platform founded in 2017 at the World Economic Forum to help establish a sustainable battery value chain by 2030.

IISD joins a community of diverse stakeholders that are well placed to advance responsible and circular battery value chains.

"Batteries have emerged as a key technology to electrify and decarbonize the global economy," said Richard Florizone, President and CEO, IISD. "We are keen to contribute to the GBA’s work with our knowledge on policies for responsible stewardship of our natural resources, our extensive expertise on energy policy reform, and our years of research and advocacy on the economic frameworks needed to support the energy transition." 

Evolving battery technologies are particularly important for mining countries that can produce the critical mineral inputs for next-generation batteries, such as cobalt, lithium, and graphite. IISD works with resource-rich countries as host of the Secretariat of the Intergovernmental Forum on Mining, Minerals, Metals and Sustainable Development (IGF). The IGF has a growing focus on critical minerals for the energy transition, which is also the theme of the IGF’s Annual General Meeting in November 2022. 

“In joining the GBA, we hope to share the expertise and experience from our member counties, which represent most of the world’s mining nations,” said Greg Radford, Director, IGF.