Rethinking the Race for Metals and Minerals

EU industrial policy for silicon chips to space technologies to electric vehicles too often seems to rely on Europeans prevailing in a global race to mine. The phrase "drill, baby, drill" applies as much to metals and minerals as oil and gas these days. But the EU's industry hawks are in denial. This is a race Europe can't ever win. The EU has relatively few metals and minerals of its own and little capacity to process the vast quantities it will require. To make matters worse, the short-term approach risks alienating the partners Europe says it needs for a sustainable energy transition. But the voices questioning the coherence and viability of the EU strategy are easily drowned out — and so that's why we tracked them down for this episode on rethinking the race to mine. MEP Mohammed Chahim says the EU's forthcoming Critical Raw Materials Act should do more to allow supplier countries and regions to get enough value from their resources to industrialise and give people better lives. Diego Marin of the European Environmental Bureau explains why reuse is one of the most important strategies for mitigating demand and reducing the negative social and environmental impacts of mining. Elle Merete Omma of the Saami Council says mining should only be permissible within environmental limits — and only with the full consent of indigenous people like the Sámi. Together they show how misaligned Europe is becoming with parts of the world like Africa, the High North and South America on which it will be relying for supplies in future — and how a more cooperative and mutually beneficial approach is needed with the Global South if Europe wants reliable access to the building blocks of its industrial future. This episode was made in partnership with the Open Society Foundations. 

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