Canada’s newly unveiled defence industrial strategy could unlock opportunities for the country’s mining and critical minerals sectors, as policymakers look to strengthen national security while reinforcing domestic supply chains…The group, comprising business, Indigenous and labour organisations, argues that defence spending, if structured strategically, can serve as a catalyst for domestic production of critical minerals, low-carbon metals and advanced materials that underpin both military capability and clean-energy technologies…“Canada’s new defence industrial strategy represents a generational economic opportunity to enhance national security, energy security and security of our supply chains,” she said…New Economy Canada highlighted that defence manufacturing relies on the same critical minerals required to scale clean technologies, including battery metals and advanced materials used in electrification, communications and infrastructure.

Ministers from IEA member countries today endorsed an expanded phase of cooperation under the IEA Critical Minerals Security Programme, strengthening collective action to address rising risks to global critical mineral supply chains and highlighting the Programme as a key international platform for mineral security…“From power grids and batteries to AI chips and jet engines, critical minerals are central to modern economies,” said IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol. “Over the past five years, we have significantly strengthened our global data and analytical capabilities on critical minerals, matching the world-leading capabilities that we have in other parts of the energy sector. Building on this, we are now expanding the Critical Minerals Security Programme to promote coordinated action in the face of supply disruptions. Just as governments came together to respond to the oil shock of 1973, so they need to work together today to strengthen the resilience and diversity of critical mineral supply chains.”…In addition, they requested support for members that choose to establish or expand critical minerals stockpiling systems through practical technical and operational guidance…To accelerate diversification, Ministers asked for regular workshops to advance project development, foster partnerships and identify policy tools to reduce investment barriers, particularly in refining and processing…Discussions at the 2026 Ministerial Meeting also underscored the growing intersection between critical minerals, energy security and technological deployment, including electrification and artificial intelligence.

Indonesian and U.S. companies on Wednesday signed deals worth $38.4 billion ahead of Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto's meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump to sign a final trade pact, the Indonesian government said in a statement…The deals include a memorandum of understanding between U.S. mining group Freeport-McMoRan and the Indonesian Ministry of Investment for critical minerals cooperation, and an agreement between state oil producer Pertamina and Halliburton Co to cooperate on oilfield recovery, USABC said…Freeport and the investment ministry signed an initial deal to extend its mining permit beyond 2041, Freeport-McMoRan Chairman Richard Adkerson said at the dinner...

The U.S. government has signed an agreement with Uzbekistan to secure better access to the Central Asian country's critical minerals, as U.S. President Donald Trump moves to counter China's dominance of crucial resources and their supply chains…It will prioritise investments across the critical mineral value chain including exploration, extraction and processing, and proposes a new U.S.–Uzbekistan Joint Investment Holding Company for future minerals and infrastructure projects, the DFC's plan said…The agreement with Uzbekistan also highlights the DFC's growing role in Trump's strategy. It already plays a key part in the Ukraine minerals deal struck last year and is spearheading projects in a number of resource-rich African countries.

California is challenging an unorthodox move by congressional Republicans to kill a waiver allowing the state to enact its own emissions regulations. If California wins, it could force U.S. automakers to comply with two diametrically opposed regulatory schemes: President Donald Trump’s anti-EV policy and California’s pro-EV regime, which 11 other states have adopted…California aims to require automakers to sell 100% EVs or other zero-emission vehicles by 2035, with aggressive interim targets that were set to begin this year. The Trump administration, by contrast, has killed federal EV subsidies and policy incentives – crashing electric-vehicle sales nationally…Congressional Republicans last year killed a $7,500-per-EV subsidy and eliminated penalties on automakers failing to meet fuel-efficiency standards. Trump's Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) last week overturned an Obama-era scientific finding that greenhouse gas emissions endanger human health — the foundation of EPA vehicle-pollution rules first adopted in 2010…Ending the California waiver is essential to Trump’s strategy, but the state’s lawsuit alleges Congress has done it illegally. The administration filed a motion to dismiss the case that is scheduled for a federal-court hearing on Thursday in Oakland, California…California started setting its own vehicle-emissions standards in the 1950s as it battled severe air-quality problems from automotive and industrial pollution, including thick smog enveloping Los Angeles…“The level of instability and confusion here is unprecedented,” said Paul Libus, an attorney at Van Ness Feldman LLP who specializes in vehicle-emissions policy…EVs accounted for 21% of the state's new-car sales last year, down slightly from a year earlier.