#32 Michael Reckordt: Critical Raw Materials Act, mining boom or environmental and social bust?

Listen to Michael Reckordt⁠, Resource Policy Expert from German organisation ⁠Powershift.

We've all heard about the global dilemmas surrounding resources like cobalt, essential for the technology in our mobile phones, but often sourced from regions with questionable human rights records.

The energy transition, the production of batteries, electric vehicles, and the transmission of renewable energy all rely heavily on raw materials, including cobalt, nickel, lithium, and rare earth elements. These minerals are concentrated in a few countries, making them susceptible to geopolitical supply disruptions.

International institutions, including the United States and the European Union, have been working on critical minerals strategies, with Europe's proposed Critical Raw Materials Act currently at a pivotal stage.

In this episode, you’ll hear more about:

What are Critical Raw Materials, why we need them and what the EU is doing about it
Sufficiency, circularity and due diligence as key elements to improve the proposal
The importance of bringing these issues outside of the industry, regulatory and political debate
The lifestyle we want to have and what we can afford within the planetary boundaries

“We hope with due diligence laws, with the battery regulation and maybe with a lot of improvement with the Critical Raw Materials Act, there might be a better chance to address not only armed conflicts but also water and land conflicts in the future. But still, as long as we need more and more metals, there will be pressure on local communities.”

Michael Reckordt⁠ in Frankly Speaking