Critical minerals and international context

With the global shift towards green economy and digitalisation, demand for some of critical materials is forecasted to rapidly increase in the coming decades. The projections of the International Energy Agency predict that demand for critical minerals needed for clean energy only could increase by 400 to 600 percent by 2040. Many countries have adopted policies to actively secure their supply of CRMs, thus increasing resource competition. At the same time, resource-rich countries are leveraging their strong position as suppliers of CRMs against buyer countries through a range of strategies that interfere with the current system of international trade and investment law, for instance through export restrictions, or nationalisation of domestic mining industry. Traditional supply chains, which are concentrated in a few countries, thus face growing risks of disruption. In addition, technological advances have brought into spotlight possible new frontlines, which could become crucial in shaping global supply chains: deep seabed resources; polar region resources, in particular in the Arctic; and space mining. While promising, these resources are subject to different international regimes and emerging rules, facing complex legal and political challenges.

This research theme will particularly explore these developments in international law, some of which are also driven by the EU’s initiatives, and which sit at the intersection between specialised international legal regimes, geopolitics and geoeconomics.