A European Commission proposal for a new  regulation focused on securing a future supply of Critical Raw Materials (CRM) for the EU took a step further in November. The proposal will be to tag 34 metals, minerals and natural materials as CRMs (such as phosphorous, strontium and beryllium) and 17 of these as ‘strategic raw materials’ (SRMs) e.g., nickel, lithium and cobalt used in car batteries, is an attempt to de-risk global supply chains as the EU implements its green economy transition. (See here for some excellent infographics). With negotiations nearing their conclusion, it is now likely that this regulation will enter the Official Journal and thus into law in early 2024.   

This will open up an area of legal divergence between the EU and UK. It will also strengthen the EU’s approach to ensuring adequate supply of the various metals, minerals and materials required for a variety of uses from low carbon equipment and vehicles to solar panels, space and defence technologies.  

Amongst other things, the proposal sets 2030 objectives for the proportion of the EU’s annual consumption of these materials that should be extracted (10%), processed (40%) and sourced from recycling (15%) within the EU itself. It requires that no more than 65% of the EU’s annual consumption of a CRM can come from a single third country. As China supplies 100% of the EU’s rare earth elements, Turkey provides 98% of the EU’s boron and South Africa provides 71% of the EU’s platinum this will mean a significant shift in its consumption patterns or sources of supply. It also enables Member States to identify ‘Strategic Projects’ which would benefit from a less intensive permitting process – something that carries environmental risk, as highlighted by IEEP – see here. IEEP has also pointed out the need to improve the circularity of resource management, including a major increase in recycling of post-consumer waste to permit the achievement of CRM targets.  

In contrast, the UK’s approach has not been to legislate or to set targets. A policy paper, “Resilience for the future; the UK’s critical minerals strategy,” updated in March 2023 instead states that: ‘For much of our future mineral requirements, it is likely that the market will deliver at the scale we need’. ‘Accelerating domestic capabilities’ (including by ‘reducing barriers to domestic exploration and extraction’) is included within the UK approach, as is collaborating with international partners and ‘enhancing international markets’ by improving market data and the traceability of materials as well as promoting London as a centre of ‘responsible finance’.  

Michael Nicholson, Head of UK Environmental Policy at IEEP UK, commented on the development:  
“Both the EU and the UK are, through their respective approaches, looking to improve or increase domestic sourcing of CRMs and both promise to reduce ‘barriers’ to domestic exploitation, by minimising the normal stages required to acquire environmental permits. Yet, the lack of clear targets in the UK or of an overriding objective to reduce dependence on a single, third country is a clear difference between the EU and UK approaches. The EU and UK share most of the same political, security and economic concerns. A joined up and collaborative approach is surely what is needed.”  

Photo by Clayton Cardinalli on Unsplash.