Reacción a "A UN report highlights the impact of critical mineral extraction on the health of the most vulnerable"

This report confirms and expands upon information that was already partially known regarding the major Achilles’ heel of the energy transition: excessive dependence on minerals and the environmental impacts associated with their extraction and refining. The energy transition is necessary and urgent, but today, the extractivist model prioritizes obtaining raw materials at the lowest possible cost, which has resulted in “sacrifice zones,” generally in the Global South.

It is urgent that the countries that consume the largest quantities of the final products using these raw materials play a role in implementing solutions to make resource extraction more socially and environmentally sustainable. This requires incorporating Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) perspectives into products, so that the impacts at the beginning of the production chain are reflected in the final price (in the form of taxes, for example, which can then be used to compensate affected communities). In Europe, the Ecodesign Regulation for Sustainable Products (ESPR) moves in this direction, though it is not sufficient.

Another discussion that must take place at the societal level is where to open mines. In Europe, there are deposits of certain critical minerals, such as spodumene (a lithium-containing mineral) in Spain. Extracting these resources would help reduce global environmental and social impacts (European environmental legislation is generally stricter than that of countries in the Global South) and gain strategic independence in supply chains, but it would entail significant social and environmental costs for the continent.