Critical minerals and rare earth elements in a planetary just transition: An interdisciplinary perspective

Abstract

While vital for the development of ‘clean’ energy technologies, the extraction and processing of critical minerals and rare earth elements entail a range of overlapping social and environmental harms in local communities across the world. The transition to low-carbon economies invokes a host of multiscalar dilemmas, injustices and trade-offs, notably between the global imperative to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and the local consequences of mineral mining. There are profound barriers to delivering a just energy transition at a planetary scale given the reliance of green technologies upon socio-environmentally harmful extractive practices across critical mineral supply chains. Adopting an interdisciplinary lens and drawing from a set of international case studies, we critically examine the intersection of critical minerals with just transition governance and explore possibilities for more plural, holistic and integrated just energy transition pathways. In this introduction article, we detail the ways in which the production of low-carbon technologies is bound up with global inequalities and ongoing coloniality. We then demonstrate the importance of adopting a global, inclusive outlook on just energy transitions. Drawing from the concept of planetary just transition, we provide an overview of the key debates around the role of critical minerals in a just energy transition.