"The EU’s critical minerals crusade: How the EU trade policy on raw materials deepens the environmental and inequality crises", 15 May 2024

The European Union (EU) is intensifying its efforts to achieve 'climate neutrality' by 2050, primarily through the electrification of mobility, which necessitates a substantial increase in the extraction of raw materials such as nickel, lithium, and other critical minerals. The report "The EUs Critical Minerals Crusade: How the EU trade policy on raw materials deepens environmental and inequality crises" published by the Centre for Research on Multinational Corporations (SOMO) highlights how the EU's strategy leans on unequal trade agreements with resource-rich countries in the Global South, perpetuating a neocolonial dynamic. Key initiatives like the Green Deal Industrial Plan, the Net-Zero Industry Act, and the Critical Raw Materials Act aim to secure and diversify the supply of these essential minerals, often at the expense of environmental and social standards in the exporting countries.

Despite its green ambitions, the EU's approach is critiqued for prioritizing economic growth and resource-intensive technologies, such as electric vehicles (EVs), over reducing overall resource consumption. The EU’s high demand for raw materials exacerbates environmental degradation and social issues in countries like Indonesia and Chile, where mining activities lead to severe ecological and community impacts. The EU's trade policies and free trade agreements (FTAs) frequently undermine the ability of these countries to manage their resources sustainably, further entrenching their positions at the bottom of global value chains and reinforcing existing economic dependencies.

The report argues for a shift towards more sustainable and equitable practices. It calls for the EU to reduce its resource consumption and to implement strict regulations ensuring that mineral sourcing adheres to the highest social and environmental standards. Additionally, the EU should support local value addition in resource-rich countries, allowing these nations to benefit more from their own mineral wealth. The EU must also reconsider its trade policies to avoid reinforcing neocolonial patterns and instead foster genuinely mutually beneficial partnerships that respect the development needs and sovereignty of resource-exporting countries.