The environment must not be the loser amid rising demand for critical minerals essential for clean energy and overhauling industry, mining leaders have agreed.
In an increasingly electrified world, a 20-fold surge in demand for nickel and cobalt is expected by 2040, while the need for copper is tipped to double by 2050.
In a five-point plan announced in Davos, Switzerland, mining and metals companies representing a third of the global industry acknowledged past harm and said decarbonisation must not be at the expense of nature.
BHP and Rio Tinto were among mining leaders pledging to take "urgent action" to safeguard land, freshwater, oceans and the atmosphere.
"There is no escaping that the act of mining directly affects nature," Rohitesh Dhawan, head of the International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM), said.
"At a time when the health of our natural world is in peril yet the demand for critical minerals is set to soar, we have committed to significant collective action to help create a nature positive future," he said.
As the sector tries regain community trust and attract scarce talent to expand mining, the ICMM said it hoped to influence the wider industry and encourage other sectors to play their part in protecting nature.
The CEO-led body said the new commitments built on the work of recent decades on habitat conservation, species protection and landscape restoration.
Commitments on direct operations, value chains, governance and transparency apply to all members.
Companies need only select "at least one" of three commitment options relating to wider landscapes and systems.
STEPS FOR "NATURE POSITIVE" FUTURE:
* Protect and conserve pristine areas, including no mining or exploration in World Heritage sites
* Halt biodiversity loss at operations and achieve at least no net loss of biodiversity at all mine sites
* Include supply and distribution chains in efforts to halt and reverse nature loss
* Restore and enhance landscapes through local partnerships, including Indigenous peoples and local communities
* Spark wider change in ways of doing business to not contribute to nature loss and foster opportunities for recovery.
