Countries will now have to explain rationale for fast-tracking oil, mining licences - New EITI Rules

Countries will now have to explain rationale for fast-tracking oil, mining licences – New EITI Rules

May 24, 2023 News

Kaieteur News – The Board for the Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (EITI) has agreed to several changes to its Standard, one of which includes a new demand for countries to explain their rationale for fast-tracking oil and mining licences.

The full list of rules that comprise the 2023 EITI Standard will be launched on June 13, at the EITI’s upcoming Global Conference in Dakar, Senegal.

The Board in a statement explained that the updated requirements for the 2023 EITI Standard have been agreed by representatives of countries, companies, and civil society organisations participating in the EITI Board. The Board also noted that the 2023 EITI Standard strengthens EITI disclosures and governance requirements to improve understanding of the impact of the energy transition, address corruption risks, promote gender equity and strengthen revenue collection.

“The global shift towards a low-carbon economy will have a range of impacts on the citizens of resource-rich countries,” said Helen Clark, EITI Board Chair.

The official added, “A strength of the EITI has been to adapt to current and evolving challenges. Those associated with the energy transition are now reflected in the EITI Standard. I commend governments, companies, and civil society on working together to achieve consensus on these revisions. I look forward to presenting the 2023 EITI Standard to stakeholders at the EITI Global Conference in June.”

Since it was first introduced in 2013, the EITI Standard has evolved through innovations at a country and company level. The process for refining the 2023 EITI Standard was underpinned by wide consultation. It drew on lessons learned in the past ten years of implementation to identify relevant and timely disclosures that will inform policy and public debate.

The most recent revisions strengthen and clarify the EITI Requirements. They identify important new areas for disclosure, including on commitments, policies, and plans for the energy transition; capital and operating expenditure costs; carbon pricing mechanisms; carbon taxes; greenhouse gas emissions; and subsidies. They require countries to document the rationale for any fast-tracking of extractive licenses, thereby strengthening safeguards in the allocation of those licenses as projected demand for minerals required for the energy transition increases.

Anti-corruption provisions have now been explicitly integrated into the objectives of the EITI Requirements. Furthermore, all companies supporting the EITI and participating in EITI reporting, including state-owned enterprises, are now expected to disclose their anti-corruption policies. Moreover, the EITI Standard encourages a minimum ownership threshold for disclosing the identities of individuals who own or control companies, and clarifies beneficial ownership disclosures for state-owned enterprises. The EITI board said such disclosures are important for identifying conflicts of interest and the participation of politically engaged persons in the extractive sector.

It said the revisions also promote the participation of women in the extractive sector by extending gender-disaggregated disclosures to employment and benefits from the sector. They also extend disclosures related to environmental and social monitoring and impact as well as community consultations.

Kaieteur News understands that the revised EITI Standard paves the way for developing a leaner approach to reporting revenues and payments to manage reporting costs, drawing on lessons learned from adapting EITI reporting during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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EITI rules, mining licences, oil

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