Members Highlights:
- Science article:
A global minerals trust could prevent inefficient and inequitable protectionist policies
- Source Information
- Original Title:A global minerals trust could prevent inefficient and inequitable protectionist policies
- Authors:Saleem H. Ali, Daniel M. Franks, Jose A. Puppim de Oliveira, Kaveh Madani, Owen Gaffney, Eva Anggraini, Leonard Wantchekon, and Xianlai Zeng
- Affiliations:Department of Geography and Spatial Sciences, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, USA.
- Keywords:Sustainable Energy Transition，Critical Energy Transition Minerals，Equitable Access ，Geopolitical Tensions，Supply Chain Disruptions，Global Minerals Trust，Cartel Formation，Technical Assistance
- Source Link:https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adv9841
- Editor’s Comments
The global transition towards sustainable energy and infrastructure faces a critical challenge: ensuring equitable access to essential minerals while simultaneously providing fair and stable income for mineral suppliers and mitigating the significant risk of resource conflicts. As demand surges for critical energy transition minerals [defined by the United Nations (UN) as those essential for renewable energy technologies], their uneven geographical distribution risks exacerbating geopolitical tensions and the potential for supply chain disruptions. Given that critical minerals are likely to generate considerable discussion at this month’s meeting of G7 countries, we propose the establishment of a Global Minerals Trust to address these challenges, incentivize cooperative resource management for the green transition, and disincentivize the formation of cartels. The Trust would function as a neutral steward or broker, ensuring fair prices for both mineral suppliers and consumers, discouraging a rush towards inefficient new mining operations, and providing developing countries with technical assistance to sustainably expand their mineral industries.
- Original text summary
The global transition to sustainable energy and infrastructure faces a critical challenge: ensuring equitable access to essential minerals while also providing fair and stable income for mineral suppliers and mitigating the serious risk of resource conflicts. As demand for critical energy transition minerals [defined by the United Nations (UN) as those necessary for renewable energy technologies] surges, their uneven distribution risks heightening geopolitical tensions and the potential for supply chain disruptions. With critical minerals likely to generate considerable discussion at the meeting of G7 countries this month, we propose a Global Minerals Trust to address these challenges, incentivize cooperative resource management for the green transition, and disincentivize the formation of cartels. The Trust would serve as a neutral steward or broker ensuring fair prices for both mineral suppliers and consumers, discouraging a rush toward inefficient new mines, and supporting developing countries with technical assistance to sustainably expand mineral industries.
- Original text information
ABSTRACT
The global transition to sustainable energy and infrastructure faces a critical challenge: ensuring equitable access to essential minerals while also providing fair and stable income for mineral suppliers and mitigating the serious risk of resource conflicts. As demand for critical energy transition minerals [defined by the United Nations (UN) as those necessary for renewable energy technologies] surges, their uneven distribution risks heightening geopolitical tensions and the potential for supply chain disruptions. With critical minerals likely to generate considerable discussion at the meeting of G7 countries this month, we propose a Global Minerals Trust to address these challenges, incentivize cooperative resource management for the green transition, and disincentivize the formation of cartels. The Trust would serve as a neutral steward or broker ensuring fair prices for both mineral suppliers and consumers, discouraging a rush toward inefficient new mines, and supporting developing countries with technical assistance to sustainably expand mineral industries.
- This issue’s editor
Professor Jian’ge TAO, a professor and postgraduate supervisor at the School of Economics and Management, Zhongyuan University of Technology, focuses on the research of resource and environmental economics.