King on the critical path to IEA summit and Europe EV talks

Federal Resources and Northern Australia Minister Madeleine King will take part in the inaugural International Energy Agency (IEA) Critical Minerals and Clean Energy Summit on September 28 in Paris, France.

Bilateral talks will be held with ministerial counterparts from Germany, the European Union (EU), France and the United Kingdom (UK) with the aim of positioning Australia as a reliable supplier of critical minerals for global efforts to reach net zero.

Discussions will also be held with IEA executive director Fatih Birol, including further talks with industry representatives from Europe’s automotive industry to address the need for more critical minerals to manufacture electric vehicles.

Minister King says Australia has the critical minerals the world needs to help lower emissions.

“We have well-established export supply chains built over decades through our iron ore and gas industries,” she said.

“Australia’s resources sector also has high environmental and social governance standards (ESG) and a global reputation as a stable and reliable export partner.

Minister King released the nation’s new Critical Minerals Strategy in June, laying out Australia’s plans to become a globally significant supplier of critical minerals by 2030.

The visit to Europe and the UK will allow Minister King to outline how Australia is working with the sector and cooperating with international partners to diversify global supply chains and support investment in the mining and processing of key minerals.

“The world’s clean energy transition will ride on the back of Australia’s critical minerals,” Minister King said.

“Critical minerals are crucial components of clean energy technologies such as batteries for electric vehicles and energy storage, as well as for wind farms and solar panels.”

Australia is the world’s leading producer of unprocessed lithium, the world’s largest cobalt exporter and the fourth-largest exporter of rare earths.

Australia is also the fourth largest exporter of mined copper and nickel and a significant producer of aluminium.