A different way of dealing with resources is necessary
Our hunger for raw materials is anything but sustainable, no one doubts that anymore. The so-called Earth congestion day refers to the date by which humanity consumes so many natural resources and so much CO each year.2 It shows how ecologically acceptable it would be. The day continues to move forward, in 2022 it was on 28 July globally. The German Earth Overload Day was already on 4 May.
“Germany is one of the five largest consumers of raw materials in the world. However, virtually all mined metals are mined abroad, often in countries of the Global South," the introductory article to this dossier states. The extraction of raw materials is often accompanied by human rights violations and environmental disasters. And those who protest against mining live dangerously: According to the non-governmental organization Global Witness, 200 land and environmental activists were killed worldwide last year, at least a quarter of them in connection with the problem of raw materials.
These are just a few of the reasons for a raw material turnaround. Among other things, this would have to significantly reduce resource consumption. This also means changing our patterns of mobility, production and consumption. Human rights and environmental standards must be increased and implemented. This would also protect those affected in the mining areas and strengthen civil society.
The German Supply Chain Act, which will impose due diligence obligations on companies along their supply chain from 2023, hopes to improve the human rights situation. But the law has weaknesses. Civil society organisations are counting on improvement at EU level.
It is clear that the ecological transformation of energy and mobility also requires large quantities of raw materials. Many states and companies want to win on the seabed soon. However, this would cause irreparable damage to maritime ecosystems, as Maureen Penjueli points out in her article on deep-sea mining. It cannot therefore be a question of continuing, for example, the existing private transport without fossil fuels, but on the basis of other raw materials.
One way out would be a circular economy in which the raw materials used are recycled instead of ending up in waste. It is primarily the urban centres that are required to do so. This is because they ‘are globally responsible for up to 70 percent of greenhouse gas emissions and raw material consumption’, writes Julius Neu in his text on the zero waste strategy in Berlin. ‘Not only the fight against the climate crisis, but also for the turnaround in raw materials is therefore to a large extent won or lost in cities.’
In this struggle, pressure on politics is needed to take the necessary steps.
