Between November 14th and 16th, CEBRI advanced its COP30 program with a series of strategic debates in the Blue Zone and the Dialogue House. The agenda brought together ministerial authorities, international experts, researchers, and business leaders to deepen discussions on critical minerals, market readiness for renewable energies, and civilizational issues that shape the future based on the transformations experienced in the 21st century.

November 14
From Mines to Grids: Ministerial Dialogue on Critical Minerals for the Energy Transition

Co-organized by CEBRI, the Ministry of Mines and Energy (MME), and the Global Clean Power Alliance (GCPA), the panel “From Mines to Grids” brought together representatives from governments, multilateral organizations, and the private sector to discuss how to increase the global supply of critical minerals responsibly, ensuring transparency, sustainability, and socioeconomic benefits for local communities.

The National Secretary of Geology, Mining and Mineral Transformation, Ana Paula Bittencourt, highlighted the need for environmental and social safeguards that allow Brazil to expand its production with legal certainty, responsibility, and greater added value in chains such as niobium, lithium, copper, graphite, rare earths, and phosphate—essential for global food security.

Representing the United Kingdom, Minister Katie White (GCPA) emphasized that accelerating the energy transition requires resilient, diversified, and low-carbon supply chains, with investments in quality data, manufacturing, innovation, and circularity strategies.

Also participating were Prince James of the Netherlands, who reinforced the importance of responsible mining and the local value captured by producing countries; representatives from IBRAM, who advocated for greater South-South cooperation and attractive tax regimes; Solange Ribeiro (Neoenergia), who highlighted the need for innovation, de-risking, and industrial arrangements that promote shared prosperity; Demetrios Papathanasiou (World Bank), who presented the new plan for expanding investments in metals and mining; and Luciana Costa (BNDES), who detailed the bank's initiatives to finance greenfield projects, support junior companies, and enable guarantee mechanisms for the sector.

Concluding the debate, Mariana Espécie emphasized that critical minerals are central enablers of the energy transition and that Brazil must strengthen its governance, expanding international partnerships and listening to all actors in the ecosystem to advance this debate in the coming months.

November 14
From Net Zero Roadmaps to Action: Advancing Market Readiness for Renewables and Low-Carbon Solutions

Held at Casa Diálogo, the meeting was part of the Second Phase of CEBRI's Energy Transition Program (PTE2) and aimed to discuss ways to strengthen market readiness for renewable energy and low-carbon industrial solutions. Organized by CEBRI and Scatec, with the participation of PTE2 partners and sponsors, the panel brought together policymakers, financial institutions, and international experts.

November 16th:
Human Being Tomorrow

Closing out the weekend, CEBRI held the event “Being Human Tomorrow,” dedicated to reflecting on the meaning of being human in a context marked by rapid technological, environmental, and social transformations. The debate brought the COP experience closer to themes such as planetarism, ecohumanism, posthumanism, and transhumanism: perspectives that seek to reinterpret the relationship between humanity, nature, and technology in a world traversed by multiple interconnected crises.

Participants included Izabella Teixeira, Advisory and International Council Member of CEBRI and former Minister of the Environment; Alita Mariah (Inhotim Institute); and Fábio Scarano (Museum of Tomorrow/UFRJ/IDG). The discussions highlighted that the climate crisis and technological advancement are profoundly reorganizing the ethical and political references of contemporary life, demanding new forms of multilateralism, education, scientific culture, and collective responsibility.

Among the topics discussed, the following stood out:

• the challenge of recognizing nature as a political actor;

• The role of nature-based solutions in responding to polycrises;

• the need to reconnect society, politics, and the environment;

• and the understanding that building desirable futures depends on human action, science, and the ability to consciously integrate technology and ecology.