This side event of the EU Raw Materials Week is co-hosted by Fern and Resource Matters.

As the European Union deepens its engagement in Africa’s critical raw material value chains, the Lobito Corridor Initiative has emerged as a flagship Global Gateway investment. Designed as a strategic trade and transport route, the corridor connects the port of Lobito in Angola to Zambia’s Copperbelt through the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), facilitating the export of transition minerals and agricultural products to global markets.

While the initiative is framed as a cornerstone for sustainable connectivity and the clean energy transition, it raises pressing concerns: how will the expansion of mining and infrastructure projects affect the DRC’s fragile ecosystems—particularly the vital miombo forests in Southern Katanga and Lualaba? How will it impact the lives of local communities through displacement and relocation? And how will the project address the deep energy access gap in mining-affected regions?

This session, co-hosted by Resource Matters and Fern, will bring together EU policymakers, financial institutions and civil society experts, to explore pathways for aligning European investments in the Lobito Corridor Initiative with environmental protection, social justice, and equitable energy access. By grounding the discussion in Afrewatch’s satellite image–based research on deforestation and forest degradation trends, Resource Matter’s mapping on electrification needs in the country and additional inputs from civil society partners (Afrewatch, Global Witness) the event will highlight urgent trade-offs between industrial expansion, forests and people’s rights in the DRC.

Guest Speakers

Civil Society & Research:

• Jean-Claude Mputu, Director, Resource Matters
• André Ntumba, Afrewatch (recent research on deforestation in Southern DRC)
• Indra Van Gisbergen , Forest governance campaigner, Fern
• Representative, Global Witness

IPIS (Moderator)

Institutions:

Representative, EEAS (tbc)

DG INTPA, European Commission (confirmed)

MEP , DEVE Committee (tbc)