Tony Addison and Alan Roe at 3rd UN Roundtable on Extractives

On 20 January, 2021, Tony Addison and Alan Roe, both Non-Resident Senior Research Fellows at UNU-WIDER, will be presenting at a high-level United Nations Roundtable titled "Extractive industries and sustainable development in the UNECE region". His remarks will be part of a panel on Extractive industries and development financing.

The Roundtable is convenved by the UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed and hosted by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe. The overall objective of the Roundtable is to seize the COVID-19 crisis as an opportunity to identify and implement key partnerships, instruments, and policies to ensure that extractive industries can better serve as a driver for sustainable development.

The specific objectives of the Roundtable are to:

• Discuss emerging trends in the extractive industries in the UNECE region in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and the multiple challenges the region faces regarding development financing: ESG investments, productive chains, innovation and value addition; and social and environmental sustainability;
• Consider how extractive industries can be aligned with the SDGs and the Paris Agreement for the benefit of people and planet through integrated and holistic approaches to sustainable development;
• Discuss how the Financing for Development in the Era of COVID-19 and Beyond Initiative (FfD) applies to extractive industries in the UNECE region, particularly regarding finance, debt, illicit financial flows, accountability, and transparency;
• Identify key partnerships, measures, and policies that can be implemented at national and regional levels to ensure that extractives can help drive sustainable development and progress towards a circular economy in the UNECE region.

This Roundtable will be the third in a series of five regional Roundtables hosted by the Regional Economic Commissions. The Secretary-General will convene a sixth roundtable, drawing on the outcomes of the five regional roundtables, that will provide a global perspective and deliver tangible solutions in the future. Each regional Roundtable will include the participation of Heads of State and Government, Ministers and other senior government officials, experts from academia and think tanks, representatives from international organizations, the private sector, civil society, and other relevant stakeholders from the respective region.