strategic raw materials and sustainable development · 24.10.2017 strategic raw materials and...

24.10.2017 StrategicRawMaterialsandSustainableDevelopment–WorkshopatWRF2017 1

ENTWICKLUNGSFONDS SELTENE METALLE

JointPressStatementontheWorkshopattheWorldResourcesForuminGeneva,October24,2017

StrategicRawMaterialsandSustainableDevelopment

OnOctober24,ESMFoundation,EITRawMaterialsandUNECEorganizedaworkshopon„StrategicRawMaterialsandSustainableDevelopment”attheWorldResourcesFo-

rum2017inGeneva,Switzerland.

Theworkshopwasdividedintothreeparts:inthefirstpart,thefocuswasoncurrentandfutureneedsforrawmaterialswithrelationtomeetingtheSustainableDevelop-

mentGoals,sheddinglightonthedemandsideoftheglobaluseofCriticalRawMaterials.ThesecondpartoftheworkshopwasdevotedtothefuturesupplyofStrategicRaw



MaterialswithaviewonSustainableDevelopment.Inthethirdpartoftheworkshop,thespeakerswerejoinedbyfurtherexpertsforacommonpaneldiscussion.Thework-

shopwaschairedbyAlessandraHool,ESMFoundation,RolandGauß,EITRawMaterials,andHarikrishnanTulsidas,UNECE.

Thefirstspeaker,JulianHilton,ChairoftheUNFCSustainableDevelopmentWorkingGroup,explainedtheUnitedNationsFrameworkClassificationforResources(UNFC)inthe

contextofmeetingtherawmaterialneedsforattainingtheSDGs.Hearguedthatwearecurrentlypathfindingtowardsanewenvironmental-economicpointofequilibrium–

anapproachthatattheverycoreconsidersboththeSDGsandtheneedtocombatClimateChange.AccordingtoHilton,theUNFCtoolkitneedstobeupdatedandcentred

aroundresources,customersandservices,security,andvalues.NextstepswouldincludedevelopingacurriculumtoapplytherevisedUNFCtothemanagementofnaturalre-

sources,shaperesourcemanagementpolicyaccordingly,andtodeveloptechnologiesandmaterialflowstofeedtheeco-system.InhistalkonfutureglobalneedsforStrategic

RawMaterials,LuisTerceroEspinoza,ESMFoundationandFraunhoferISI,outlinedtheexpectedincreaseddemandfornon-energyrawmaterialsassociatedwithemerging

technologiesthatwillbecrucialtoattainingtheSDGs.Tercerolookedattheexamplesofrawmaterialsdemandforwindpowerandlithium-ionbatteries.Thetalkconcluded

withadiscussionofglobalinterdependenciesregardingrawmaterialsandanexaminationoftheroleofrecyclinginsecuringsupply:evenifrecyclingratesincreasesubstantial-

lyalsoforspecialmetals,therewillbestillaglobalneedforprimarymining.MichaelHaschke,DMTandChairoftheUNFCMineralWorkingGroup,explainedhowmanyexist-

ingmineoperationsshowgraduallydepletingoregrades.Erosionofmanyhistorictailingssitesworldwidehaveraisedhealthissues.Zero-wastesolutionswheretailingscanbe

reprocessedandrecycledarean importantsteptoaddresstheseproblems.Haschkeshowedasuccessfulprojectonreprocessingofphosphogypsumtailings,which, ifper-

formedsystematically,wouldhaveasignificantimpactonrareearthelementandphosphoroussupply.Newautomatedtechnologiescouldleadtoamoresustainable,envi-

ronmentally friendlyand lesshazardousmining.Haschkepointedout the importanceof integrating thesecommodities intoaglobal resourcemanagementsystemsuchas

UNFC.

EstathiosPeteves,Headof theKnowledgefortheEnergyUnionUnit intheDirectorateC fromtheEuropeanCommission’s JointResearchCenter (JRC),highlightedtheas-

sessementoftheEUresiliencetothesupplyofseveralkeymaterialsandcomponentsrequiredforthelargedeploymentofselectedlow-carbontechnologies,namelywind,

photovoltaicsandelectric vehicles.A comprehensivemethodologybasedonvarious indicatorswasused todetermine theEU’s resilience to supplybottlenecksacross the

completevaluechain.TheanalysisshowsthattheEUisvulnerabletosupplybottlenecksofseveralkeymaterialsandcomponentsneededincrucialfuturetechnologies.Unless

mitigationmeasuresaretaken,Europeanresiliencetopotentialsupplyissueswilldeterioratesubstantiallyoverthenextdecade.SorayaHeuss-Aßbichler,UniversityofMunich

andvice-chairoftheUNFCAnthropogenicResourcesWorkingGroup,explainedtheneedforimprovementinkeepingvaluablematerialsinthevaluechaintoavoidtheirdissi-

pationintotheenvironment.Reliabledataaboutquantityandqualityofvariouswastestreams,theirsourcesanddisposalroutesarelargelymissing.Thepossibilityofclassify-

ingnon-salesquantities,suchasresidues,tailingsandwastes,makestheUNFCsystemattractivetovisualizethepotentialforwasteasaresource,whichisatopicofgrowing

attentioninstrivingtowardsacirculareconomy.Theworkinggroup4oftheCostActionMINEA(MiningtheEuropeanAnthroposphere)aimsatprovidingacoherentandcon-

sistentframeworkfortheclassificationofanthropogenicresources,underconsiderationofitsimpactonthesociety,environmentandeconomy.



Theworkshopcontinuedwithavideostreamtoasessionon”CircularEconomyandSDGs“attheG-STICconferenceinBrusselson“ConnectingTechnologicalInnovationto

DecisionMakingforSustainability”.KarenHanghøj,CEOofEITRawMaterials,andKarlVrancken,VITO,summarizedtheoutcomeofthesessiontotheaudienceinGeneva:

Systemic changes are required to achieve the transition to a circular economy. This transition is very complex and challenging, requiring behavioural, regional and global

changeaswellasahighpolicyawareness.Thecontinentsareevolvingdifferently.Policymakers,industry,andconsumershavetolearnwithinadialogueframework.Leading

countriesthatactivelyadvancenewbusinessmodelsare,forexample,Finland,Netherlands,andBelgium,actingasfront-runnersinrespectivepolicyactionsandinenabling

stakeholderprocessesorganisedataregionallevel.TheG-STICsessionincludedstakeholderpresentationsfromBangaloreandKenya,stimulatingalivelydiscussionandhigh-

lightingtheglobaldimensionofthetopic.

TheafternoonsessioninGenevacontinuedwithAlexandraPehlken,UniversityofOldenburg,whopresentedanassessmentofresourceefficiencyrelatedtostrategicrawma-

terials.Manyproductsundergomorethanoneownerandarenotre-enteringthesamelifecycleagain.ExamplesfromautomotiveandWEEEhighlightedthepotentialofhigh-

efficiencyopen-looprecycling.ChristianHagelüken,ESMFoundationandDirectorofEUGovernmentAffairsatUmicore,talkedaboutthefuturedemandforcobaltandactions

foritssustainablesourcing.Thesustainablesupplyanduseofmetalsisakeyrequirementforthesuccessfulimplementationofmanyemerginglowfossilcarbontechnologies.

Forexample,thegradualtransitionfromcombustionenginestoelectromobilitywilltriggerasignificantdemandforbatterymetalssuchascobaltandlithium.Itisanimportant

taskofindustriesacrossthevaluechaintodevelopresourceefficientproductionchainsandtosecureareliableandresponsiblysourcedmetalssupply.Closingthematerials

loopbyestablishingeffectivetake-backandrecyclingsystemsisoneofthekeyactivitiesinthiscontext.Legislationandinterplayofstakeholdersinthemarketplacesetim-

portantframeconditions,andtherecentCircularEconomyPackageoftheEUCommissioncanbeapowerfulenablertoclosingmaterialsloops.Finally,ErikaIngvald,Geologi-

calSurveyofSweden,putUNFC inthecontextasatool forthesustainablemanagementofcritical rawmaterial (CRM)resources.Eventhoughextractionofrawmaterials

mightbelocal,therawmaterialsmarketandminingindustryareglobal,andsotherearechallengeswhenitcomestosharingglobaldata.UNFChasthepotentialofbeinga

tool for resourcepolicyand strategy formulation, government resourcemanagement, industrybusinessprocessmanagement, andcapital allocation,bydeliveringglobally

comparabledata.Thiswillbeextremelyimportantforsourcingandmanagementofcriticalrawmaterials.Hence,thereareactivitiestodevelopguidanceforSweden,Finland

andNorwaywiththepurposeofmovingbeyondclassificationtowardsmanagingresourcessustainably.UNFCisapplicableandappliedtoanumberofnaturalresources,bridg-

ingtothecodesusedbyindustry,andusedasacommunicationstoolforfinance,businessprocesses,resourcemanagementandpolicymaking.However,moreworkisneeded

inthecomingyearstodevelopUNFCintoatoolthatsupportssustainableresourcing.

Participants of the following joint discussion includedKerstin Brinnen, Swedish Association ofMines,Mineral andMetal Producers (Svemin), Constantin Ciupagea, Joint

ResearchCenter,EuropeanCommission,KeisukeNansai,NIEMS, Japan,Hans-JürgenWachter,Heraeus,StevenYoung,UniversityofWaterloo,Canada,ArminReller, ESM

FoundationandUniversityofAugsburg,andVitoCorreia,PresidentoftheEuropeanFederationofGeologists.Severalimportantaspectsoftheoveralltopicwerediscussedin



theplenary:firstly,theparticipantsagreedthatwhilstthereisnoSDGspecificallyonrawmaterials,rawmaterialsarekeyforattainingmanyoftheSDGs.Furthermore,there

wasabroadconsensusthatrecyclingandthetransitiontowardsacirculareconomywillbeaglobalkeygoalinthefuture,butthatminingwillcontinuetobeofimportance

andthatstrategiesandtechnologieshavetobedevelopedtomakeminingbotheconomicallyviableandresponsible.Ataconsumerlevel,alternativebusinessmodelssuchas

leasingofcomponentswereidentifiedasoneimportantaspectofenablingthetransitiontowardsacirculareconomy.Europe’sfocushastobeoncontinuingtoraiseaware-

nesstowardsrawmaterials,andcollaborationhastohappennotonlyonEuropeanbutalsoonnationalandregionallevels.Here,therearestilllargedifferenceswithinEurope

regardingtransparency,andthedialoguemustbeimprovedandfostered.Driversfortransparencyaretodaynotonlygovernmentsbutalsocustomers,companiesandvarious

actorsacross thevalue chain. Itwasagreed that theUnitedNationsFrameworkClassificationbears thepotential tobeavaluable tool toenable collaborative systemap-

proaches,notatleastbecauseitisbackedbyaninternationallycredibleorganization.

Insummary,thekeyresultsoftheworkshopwere:

§ Sustainabledevelopmentisfundamentallylinkedtotheaccesstostrategicrawmaterials.Potentialbottlenecksmustbeconsideredacrosstheentirevaluechain,ad-

dressingrawmaterials,processingcapacities,semi-finishedaswellasfinishedproducts.Mitigationmeasurestoensuresustainablefuturesupplyhavetobetakento-

day.

§ Itiscrucialtodefineobjectivesonhowtoresponsiblymanagerawmaterialsacrossthewholevaluechain.Secondaryrawmaterialssourcingwillbecomeincreasingly

important,butminingwillstillbeneeded.Innovativeapproachesarerequiredtotackletechnologyandbusinessrelatedissuesinminingbutalsotodealwithaspects

ofsocialresponsibilityandecologicalimpact.

§ Reliabledataandeffectivepolicyinterventionscanonlybedevelopedinadefinedframeworkandrequireimprovedcollaborationofallinvolvedactorsinasystematic

andtransparentapproach.

Thepresentationsareavailableontheeventwebsiteathttps://www.esmfoundation.org/event/wrf2017/.

TherewasahighinterestoftheparticipantstofurtherdeveloptheinterlinkedtopiconSDGs,criticalrawmaterialsandclassification.Ifyouwanttojointhisdialogue,[email protected].

Afollow-upworkshoponSustainableManagementofStrategicRawMaterialsanditsapplicationsinindustrywilltakeplaceintheafternoonofTuesday,April24,2018,intheframeworkoftheUNECEResourceManagementWeek2018.YouwillfindfurtherinformationontheUNECEwebsiteoverthecomingweeks.

strategic raw materials and sustainable development · 24.10.2017 strategic raw materials and...

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