By Thomas LANDERRETCHE
Frank Herbert’s magnum opus Dune presented itself as not only an allegory regarding the power of religious belief, but also as a warning to when actors—in pursuit of resources— ignore their quests’ impact on the environment and people. Just like how the extraction of spice in Arrakis comes at the detriment of the environment and the Fremen, the extraction of critical raw materials may further put pressure on an already drained planet Earth. The question of critical raw materials was always at the back of my mind throughout the 2026 Warwick Economic Summit, as many guest speakers spoke of the possibility of strategic economic growth and diversification that is environmentally sustainable. Indeed, the extraction of critical raw materials, according to the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, “are essential for digitalization, for renewable energy technologies, and for the further deployment of electric vehicles.”However, environmentally sustainable growth and economic diversification presents many ethical considerations; weighing in questions of mining practices, indigenous rights and geopolitical power balances.
Critical raw materials are essential to the environmental transition. Since the technology necessary for building sustainable energy infrastructure (such as solar panels or wind turbines) requires critical raw materials, they have become crucial for states’ ambitions of reaching a net-zero emissions goal. With demand for these resources expected to increase in the following decades due to increasing demand for renewable energy, the question of critical raw materials’ sourcing has become more relevant. Indeed, the mining of these materials has raised many questions on the ethics behind their use. As raw materials extraction has been offshored to countries of the global south (such as Chile, Brazil, Guinea, and the Democratic Republic of Congo), there has been a perpetuation of socio-environmental inequality in these regions. For example, according to a report made by PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency, the open pit mining of copper in Chile is mainly concentrated in the arid regions of the state, thus demanding significant water resources. This leaves water scarcity as a major issue for these regions. With water pollution caused by copper mining, the discharge and extraction of these metals has caused threats to the ecosystem and local populations’ health.
Furthermore, the extraction of critical raw materials has been at the detriment of indigenous populations. According to a report by Friends of the Earth Europe and other organizations, 80% of lithium mining projects and more than half of nickel, copper and zinc projects are in the territories of indigenous peoples. Therefore, the environmental pollution caused by these extraction operations disproportionally impacts indigenous populations. According to indigenous activist Claudia Andrea Huircan, the extraction of critical raw materials in Chile ignores the indigenous populations’ rights and displaces them, leaving them with low-paid work or even forced labor. We can therefore observe this socio-environmental paradox associated with critical raw materials. Whilst, according to Global Energy Lead at the WWF and WES guest speaker Dean Cooper, one “needs a source of Critical Raw Materials”, when it comes to the sustainable energy transition, questions on these materials’ extraction must be raised, as they further unethical mining practices and violate human rights.
The extraction processes also risk exacerbating post-colonial geopolitical relations. Indeed, the EU’s emphasis on diversification of critical raw materials’ supply, according to scholar Sanja Bogojević, may “perpetuate colonial legacies” both on an international stage (as it encourages extractive colonial practices in the global south for the economic betterment of European states) and on an EU domestic level (with the extraction of resources in the Sámi territories in northern Sweden). In addition, the significant presence of China as a major refiner of critical raw materials, despite being labelled by British economist Shanker Singham as just market supply distortions, also reflects larger geopolitical dynamics. This further highlights China’s increasing control over the supply and production of European states’ security and sustainable energy infrastructure, leaving them vulnerable to supply-side shocks. As British economist Vicky Pryce stated in the WES protectionism debate panel, governments are “using trade as a weapon” and China’s supply distortion of refined critical minerals reflect continuing shifts in global geopolitical power dynamics.
Overall, there is a paradox found in the extraction of critical raw materials. As Dean Cooper highlighted, whilst the material is necessary in the environmental transition of energy supplies, the unethical sourcing of critical raw materials must be addressed.
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