Resource Politics

Aerial view of a small mine near Mt. Isa Queensland. — Image credits

The production and consumption of fossil, mineral and metallic raw materials not only contributes to climate change and environmental destruction worldwide, it also violates human rights, threatens our health and destroys livelihoods.

Coal mining and the destruction of landscapes continue worldwide, despite all the advanced debateson the urgency of phasing out oil and gas to protect the climate. But to satisfy the growing hunger forraw materials, even risk technologies such as fracking are being promoted. At the same time, the race for mineral and metallic raw materials is soaring, with risky strategies and unforeseeable consequences for humanity and the ecosystems.

To counteract these devastating developments, a resource transition is needed.

Current topics

Photo: In a valley near a forested hill, several round water basins with light blue liquid and white pipelines are visible.

Rare Earths: Why European Industries Are Dependent on Myanmar

Commentary

Almost two-thirds of the heavy rare earths dysprosium and terbium on the global market come from Myanmar. How should Germany and Europe deal with the mining of urgently needed rare earths in the civil war-torn country of Myanmar?

By Johanna Sydow

Photo: Aerial view of a junkyard with numerous containers filled with metal and aluminum scrap. Piles and piles of recyclable material.

Creating a Globally Fair Circular Economy in the Clean Industrial Deal

Analysis

A new study examines how the transition to a circular economy can be made fair globally. Against this background, we evaluate the Clean Industrial Deal presented by the EU Commission in February 2025.

By Luisa Denter and Johanna Sydow

Criticality and the Securitization of Southeast Asia’s Indigenous Mineral Resources

Article

Southeast Asia’s geographical location is blessed with abundant natural resources – minerals, forests, and wildlife. For hundreds of years, these resources have been a source of livelihood and even life for Indigenous peoples, as well as local communities. However, the capitalist perspective of development is rapidly encroaching on the mineral-rich lands of these peoples.

By Maya Quirino

Publications

Global Circular Economy

Study

A circular economy can help mitigate the negative effects of our resource consumption and reduce the massive dependence on raw materials from other countries. The study sets out what needs to be considered in order to achieve a just transition towards a circular economy.

Add to cart pdf

Photo: A dilapidated building with a partially collapsed roof and chimneys. In the foreground, a warning sign in Serbian. Above, the cover of the report The Jadar Project, Serbia: history, context and concerns.

The Jadar Project, Serbia

E-Paper

Concerns about Serbia’s Jadar project grow due to irregularities by authorities and Rio Tinto. Issues like sustainability failures, activist repression, unlawful assessments, corruption, and political influence, erode trust. This briefing covers the developments, concerns, and implications.

From Boom to Burden

Report

This report strives to shed light on the various biophysical as well as sociocultural long-term impacts of mining, which can mean massive long-term monetary costs for states and further generations.

Add to cart pdf

A change of course. On the road to a climate-just world

Is it utopian to insist on a good life for all in the face of the climate crisis? No more unrealistic than the utopia of endless growth on a finite planet on the backs of the weakest. On the road to a climate-just world” describes ways to create a sustainable world worth living in for everyone - and exposes false hopes and dangerous false solutions.

Add to cart pdf

Frontpage of Böll.Thema Cursed Treasures

Böll.Thema 2/23: Cursed Treasures

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.

Add to cart

Limiting environmental damage, human rights abuses and Indigenous Peoples’ rights violations

Guidelines

These guidelines address the great concerns with the overall aims of the EU Critical Raw Materials Regulation (CRMR) of driving greater extraction of primary raw materials and increasing harm to nature and people.

pdf

Downstream due diligence

Policy Brief

Together with the Supply Chain Law Initiative, SOMO, Swedwatch and Germanwatch, we show in this short position paper why due diligence in downstream value chains is necessary and how it can be implemented. We also make key recommendations fort he EU supply chain law.

pdf

Transformation by design, not by disaster

Report

Four areas of application show: Our current consumption of raw materials is globally and socially unjust and ecologically unsustainable. We need a raw material transition towards truly circular and sustainable producttion and consumption patterns.

pdf

Factsheet 10 Reasons Why Investing in Wintershall Dea is a Bad Idea

10 Facts about the polluting, high-risk and climate-damaging fossil acitvities of Wintershall DEA.

pdf

Deep Sea Mining

Towards a Contemporary Vision for the Global Seafloor

The present study, authored by scientists from different backgrounds, makes the eloquent case for such a reflection, pause, and reassessment. The publication is recommended to any reader concerned about our oceans' future.

Must We Risk Destroying the Ocean to Save the Planet?

Background

It is highly debatable whether deep-sea minerals are needed to enable the renewable-energy transition and decarbonize the global economy. The world must first show that seabed mining can yield long-term net benefits for sustainable development.

By Sabine Christiansen and Sebastian Unger

Videos

Verfall und Untergang - Die globale Fracking- und Gasindustrie in der Krise - Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung

Watch on YouTube

This external content requires your consent. Please note our privacy policy.

Fueling with Fire: Global/Transatlantic Interconnection - Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung

Watch on YouTube

This external content requires your consent. Please note our privacy policy.

Further contributions

Climate Leadership Means Ending Fossil-Fuel Production

This year alone, the world has faced unprecedented floods, hurricanes, wildfires, and droughts on virtually every continent. A safe climate future requires ending the age of Big Oil.

By Tzeporah Berman and Lili Fuhr

Vaca Muerta Megaproject: A fracking carbon bomb in Patagonia

Argentina’s shale gas and shale oil resources are estimated in second and fourth place globally. Almost all of this potential is concentrated in the Neuquén basin in Northern Patagonia. This paper deals with the great risks to global climate and the impacts on the environment, health and society in the affected communities.

pdf