Natural Resources

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.

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.

«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.

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.

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.

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.