Coverbild des Böll.Thema 2/2023 Blendwerk: Verschiedene Rohstoffe auf grauem Hintergrund

Cursed Treasures

The global hunger for raw materials and its consequences for people and the environment

Global demand for critical and strategic raw materials is on the rise. These resources are indispensable, particularly for the transition to clean energy, but also within other industry sectors. In this issue of our Böll.Thema magazine, we provide insights into recent developments in resource extraction, the associated challenges, and, most importantly, opportunities for positive change.

Where we stand by

Johanna Sydow

On a new and intelligent use of resources, as metallic raw materials serve as the foundation for the energy transition, digitization, as well as the transport and construction sectors.

Our industrial production requires a secure supply of metals. Mining is a global business, subject to extensive EU legislation. It often goes hand in hand with human-rights violations, and its ecological costs are high. Yet concepts, strategies and technologies do exist that could reduce our consumption of metals – and lead to fairer ways of mining them. An overview.

Statement by

Katrin Meyer

«For repairs to become the default choice again, they need to be easier and cheaper.» Why repairing should be at the forefront again and how a fair repair market and more repair knowledge can pave the way.

Destroyed salt flats, exploited glaciers, irreversible desertification: Resource extraction has brought Chile’s ecosystem to a dangerous tipping point in many areas, disenfranchising indigenous peoples and excluding the country and its population from value creation. We spoke with Sara Larraín of Chile Sustentable about the limits of our consumption, indispensable conditions for further extraction and an attitude characterized by respect and cooperation.

Dr. Melanie Müller and Lea Strack

Smelters and refineries have enormous geopolitical importance. In order to reduce dependencies on countries such as China, the EU is planning to further expand its domestic capacities. In doing so, Europe must not ignore the industrial policy interests of resource-rich partner countries and regions, but make them attractive offers.

The Critical Raw Materials Act proposed by the European Commission provides – in addition to recycling – for the reactivation and expansion of mining in Europe. What does this mean for resource-rich European countries? How do their civil societies feel about the run on raw materials on their doorstep? Three views from Serbia, Sweden and Ukraine.

Anna Cavazzini

The EU Commission is working towards sustainable solutions for the supply of critical raw materials, but the EU Critical Raw Material Act lacks specific proposals.

They have all experienced how companies exploit their country’s resources without taking responsibility for the consequences; how people’s livelihoods are being destroyed and they are being driven out of their ancestral lands. Activists have decided not to take this lying down. They fight against powerful companies and the inaction of their own governments. Six examples from six countries.

Ein Fluss fließt durch eine bergige Landschaft in der Provinz Espinar, Peru

Dead animals and sick people, dry or polluted wells: Espinar shows that national institutions are failing to manage the consequences of industrial mining, which endangers the lives of hundreds of children, men and women.

German supply chain

Due diligence by

Johanna Sydow

The German supply chain act is a step forward, and the ongoing negotiations on a European equivalent also offer some hope for greater protection of human rights, the climate and the environment. These laws alone will not suffice make the extractive sector truly fairer and more sustainable, however.

A new supply chain act is currently being discussed at EU level, giving rise to an important question: Is it enough for companies to be certified through private auditors to show that they are adequately preventing violations of human rights in their supply chains? A conversation with Matthias Baier, the head of the German Competent Authority - EU Due Diligence Obligations in Mineral Supply Chains (DEKSOR), who has already gained initial experience with such audits.

Erika Mendes and her organization Justiça Ambiental in Mozambique fight to ensure that companies can be held liable for violations – whether or not they have conducted due diligence.

Value creation by

Dr. Franziska Brantner

The new German raw materials policy is tasked with increasing recycling and creating lasting supply security by diversifying supply routes as well as production and processing capacities. And it must ensure that resource-rich countries can benefit from their wealth.

Eine Familie erntet verkrustetes Salz in der Salar de Uyuni in den Anden im Südwesten Boloviens

Indigenous rights by

Ingrid Hausinger

Their collective rights are recognized and enshrined in international agreements and national laws – yet indigenous communities still suffer immensely from the consequences of invasive mining projects.

Ein Auto liegt auf der Seite in einer riesigen Schlammlawine nach dem Bruch des BrumadWinho-Damms im brasilianischen Bundesstaat Minas Gerais im Jahr 2019

It is long overdue that countries that extract or import raw materials establish clear standards and responsibilities for dealing with the consequences of mining. From the perspective of sustainability, most of the damage caused should no longer be tolerated at all.

Economic models by

Prof. Dr. Dirk Messner, Dr. Alexander Janz and Jan Kosmol

The circular economy is an approach for a sustainable economy and a good way of life, as well as an actionable response to the triple planetary crisis – global warming, loss of biodiversity and pollution – and not least a solution to an increasingly uncertain supply of raw materials. How could it be implemented on a global scale?

recycling

Recycling by

Johanna Sydow and Luisa Denter

Even if all raw materials could be recycled, this alone would not be enough to meet the rapidly growing demand. It is crucial that all options for waste prevention and reuse be exhausted and products and infrastructure used for as long as possible. In addition, these must be designed to be durable and easy to repair.

Fußgänger und Radfahrer auf der Quais de Seine in Paris, die 2012 für Fußgänger und Radfahrer freigegeben wurde.

The mobility transition offers the opportunity for a new regenerative economic model that does not repeat the mistakes of fossil fuel era. To rely solely on electric cars now would be heading in the wrong direction. A central component of a just mobility transition would be to end dependence on private cars, expand public transportation and promote healthy and active mobility options such as cycling and walking in cities as well.

The last word by

Elisabeth Weydt

An examination of Ecuador's groundbreaking constitution, which centers nature, and the reasons it has the potential to inspire the world.

«The country that supplies the raw materials must be on the same level as the country that needs them. I think that is the key to a sustainable future. Otherwise we will end up with a kind of law of the jungle.»

Sara Larrain, Chilean Environmental Activist

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Cursed Treasures

The global hunger for raw materials and its consequences for people and the environment

Yes, we can (do better)

The great race for resources

Patching, soldering, fixing

«You cannot just use up a country’s entire natural capital.»

The bottleneck in the supply chains

In the spotlight: Europe’s resource-rich countries

The Critical Raw Materials Act: an alternative to global dependencies?

Fighting for Stolen Land

The case of Espinar – Cusco, Peru

German supply chain

Due diligence in supply chains: from nice-to-have to legal obligation

«Companies cannot just delegate their responsibilities»

«Ending corporate impunity requires international efforts.»

Shaping value creation to be ecologically sound and socially just

Protected in theory, exploited in practice

Columns of smoke, resistances and ruins

The path to a globally just circular economy

recycling

The circular economy: recycling is only the third-best option

A viable path forward

When the forest wins