COP31: Continuation of the 1% Campaign for Communities (RCCRDC)

COP31: Continuation of the 1% Campaign for Communities (RCCRDC)

As COP31 approaches, the DRC Climate Change Network (Réseau sur le Changement Climatique RDC – RCCRDC) and its allies are continuing their advocacy for the implementation of a universal, mandatory 1% levy on the value of final products reliant on strategic minerals (cobalt, lithium, nickel, copper).

“We can never talk about the energy transition without talking about local communities,” explains Appolinaire Zagabe. Founder and National Director of the RCCRDC, he has been campaigning for environmental protection, sustainable development, and climate governance in the DRC for many years.

At COP28 in Dubai, he launched the Universal 1% Campaign. What exactly is it about? The RCCRDC aims to impose a mandatory 1% levy, globally, on all final products containing strategic minerals (smartphones, electric vehicles, batteries, etc.). According to Zagabe, this revenue will feed into a Global Fund designed to finance development and the energy transition for local communities affected by mining extraction around the world.

Today, after traveling to Paris in October and subsequently visiting other European capitals, he remains confident. He now advocates for “coercive diplomacy at the United Nations” to push for the adoption of this measure.

Nevertheless, turning this advocacy into a binding global law faces the realities of international law and state fiscal sovereignty.

Observers note that this campaign will have to contend with reluctance from major global powers and domestic political hurdles. Moving from theory to practice will require a long-term diplomatic uphill battle for the initiative.

By Houmi Ahamed