• The Ministry of Mines entered into a pact with the International Energy Agency (IEA) for cooperation in the area of critical minerals.

• The IEA is an international organisation within the framework of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

• The Cabinet had earlier this month approved the proposal of signing the memorandum of understanding (MoU) between IEA and the Ministry of Mines.

• Critical minerals, which are essential for a range of clean energy technologies,  have risen up the policy agenda in recent years due to increasing demand, volatile price movements, supply chain bottlenecks and geopolitical concerns.

What is the role of International Energy Agency? 

• The International Energy Agency (IEA) was established in 1974 within the framework of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) to implement an international energy programme. 

• The IEA was born due to the 1973-1974 oil crisis, when industrialised countries found they were not adequately equipped to deal with the oil embargo imposed by major producers that pushed prices to historically high levels. 

• This first oil shock led to the creation of the IEA in November 1974 with a broad mandate on energy security and energy policy cooperation. This included setting up a collective action mechanism to respond effectively to potential disruptions in oil supply.

• As a result, countries seeking to become members of the IEA must also be members of the OECD and hold 90 days of oil imports as commercial stocks. 

• But over the years, the IEA’s mission has expanded substantially and today the agency is working with major economies around the world to enhance energy security and to help accelerate their clean energy transitions.

• The IEA’s collective emergency response system mechanism ensures a stabilising influence on markets and the global economy.

• Today, IEA, with its headquarters in Paris, is at the center of the global energy debate, focusing on a wide variety of issues, ranging from electricity security to investments, climate change and air pollution, energy access and efficiency, and much more.

• The basic aim of the IEA is to foster cooperation among its member countries and to increase energy security through energy conservation, development of alternative energy sources and energy research, development and demonstration. 

• The IEA is made up of 31 member countries. In addition, the IEA family also includes 13  association countries. Five countries are seeking accession to full membership, Chile, Colombia and Israel.

• India joined the IEA as an association country in 2017.

Highlights of the MoU:

• The present association would provide India with access to reliable data, analysis, and policy recommendations in the critical mineral sector.

• This collaboration would enable India to streamline its policies, regulations, and investment strategies in the critical mineral sector, aligning them with global standards and best practices.

• The agreement would also promote capacity building and knowledge exchange between India and the IEA member states. The collaboration on data collection, modelling, and analysis would enhance India’s technical capabilities and institutional capacity in the critical mineral sector.

• Joint research projects, workshops, and training programmes carried out under this agreement would help fostering collaboration and innovation in technology development, extraction techniques, and recycling methods for critical minerals.

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