Critical elements for the energy and climate transition - local sustainability and global development of georesources

Decarbonisation and digitalisation are driving an increasing demand for critical raw materials worldwide, leading to the expansion of existing deposits and the development of new ones. Every mining project has complex sustainability impacts in ecological, social and economic terms. However, the actual impact of raw material extraction depends on various site-specific factors. These include the geological characteristics of the deposits, the affected social and ecological systems, as well as the socio-technical and regulatory framework conditions that channel the type of mining. To date, there has been no comprehensive and interdisciplinary assessment of the different sustainability impacts and the site-specific factors that influence them. Furthermore, the question of how current geopolitical processes influence the demand and sustainability governance of mining projects has been little researched. This interdisciplinary research project fills these gaps with the help of an integrative review by developing a comprehensive categorisation of sustainability impacts and the various influencing factors. The aim of the project is to develop a standardised analysis scheme that enables a qualitative comparison of different mining projects in terms of their sustainability impacts. This system should also identify relevant research gaps and thus serve as a basis for the development of a research agenda for future joint research projects.

The working group will address the following research questions, among others:
➢ How does the interplay of resource demand, geological framework conditions, socio-technical factors and socio-ecological site characteristics affect the ecological, social and economic effects of mining projects, and how can these effects be categorised?
➢ How do these factors influence the site-specific sustainability impacts of mining projects and how can these be minimised?

Over the next two years, the working group will organise a series of virtual and face-to-face meetings and a roundtable discussion with international partners. During this time, an interdisciplinary review of the above-mentioned topic will be compiled from various perspectives. The review will be used as a basis for subsequent research proposals.