Prime Minister & Minister for Seabed Minerals, Hon. Mark Brown recently presented on the Cook Islands efforts to sustainably develop its seabed minerals (SBM) sector at a conference called the SAFE Summit (Summit) in Washington D.C.
The Summit brought together top United States (US) government officials, business leaders, and other domestic and international stakeholders – including from Australia, Japan and Canada.
The Summit’s objectives were to help progress the US government’s substantial push towards a cleaner energy future, including the mass conversion to electric vehicles. The US government’s commitment to this initiative can be measured in part through the $391 billion allocated for energy and climate change under their Inflation Reduction Act 2022.
Reflecting the importance of the Summit was the high calibre of the speakers which included: Senior Advisor to the President for Clean Innovation John Podesta; Special Presidential Coordinator for Global Infrastructure and Energy Security Amos Hochstein, Chair of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Senator Joe Manchin, Under Secretary for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment Jose Fernandez, and Australian Ambassador to the US Kevin Rudd.
Over 600 people attended the Summit, including representatives from two of the Cook Islands exploration licence holders, CIC and Moana Minerals.
Numerous challenges to achieving a cleaner energy future were discussed during the Summit, including US access to secure supplies of the raw materials needed, such as cobalt. A common theme was that alternative sources of environmentally and socially acceptable materials were critically needed.
PM Brown gave a Ted-style talk, informing attendees about the Cook Islands seabed minerals and the government’s efforts to sustainably develop its SBM sector. PM Brown touched on the potential contribution that seabed minerals could have in the global shift towards a low carbon economy and spoke about key issues such as ensuring environmental protection and innovative metals processing.