A group of deep-sea offshore mining organizations on Sunday backed President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s call to all members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations on the urgent issues on worldwide critical minerals supply and concerns on climate justice.
The Offshore Mining Chamber of the Philippines Inc., led by Dr. Michael Raymond Aragon, said: “We fully support our President’s timely call to all ASEAN nations to start enhancing regional cooperation to boost the supply of strategic industrial metals and mineral value chain in the Asia Pacific region because the future of clean energy is anchored on the crucial supply of critical minerals for mankind to achieve the clean energy transition goal needed in our common fight versus global climate change.”
During the 42nd Summit of the ASEAN in Indonesia, the President said “recognizing that the cleaner energy future is anchored on the supply of critical minerals… ASEAN should start enhancing regional cooperation toward boosting the region’s strategic industrial metal and mineral value chain.”
Aragon said there is an impending shortage of critical green minerals that the world badly needs to transition to clean energy.
“We saw the wisdom in the President’s appeal on the crucial supply of critical minerals for the green energy transition versus the global climate emergency that now threatens human extinction,” he said.
The OMCPI advocates for a cleaner and greener offshore mining as a practical alternative to the land-based mining to develop a new blue economy industry that is beyond just fishing.