Session US5

US5 | The EU Critical Raw Materials Act – how geoscientists can directly inform European policy and regulation

The EU Critical Raw Materials Act – how geoscientists can directly inform European policy and regulation

Convener: Aoife Braiden | Co-conveners: Ana Luisa Lavado, Mairéad Fitzsimons, Jakob Kloeve Keiding

Programme

| Mon, 15 Apr, 10:45–12:30 (CEST)

Room E1

Vimeo: US5 – The EU Critical Raw Materials Act – how geoscientists can directly inform European policy and regulation

In 2023, the European Commission published the Critical Raw Materials (CRM) Act. This regulation established benchmarks for the supply of CRMs within the European Union:

• At least 10% of the EU's annual consumption for extraction,
• At least 40% of the EU's annual consumption for processing,
• At least 15% of the EU's annual consumption for recycling,
• Not more than 65% of the Union's annual consumption of each strategic raw material at any relevant stage of processing from a single third country.

Achieving these targets will require (i) Creating secure and resilient EU critical raw materials supply chains; (ii) Ensuring that the EU can mitigate supply risks, (iii) Investing in research, innovation and skills and (iv) Protecting the environment by improving circularity and sustainability of critical raw materials, (v) strengthening international partnerships.

Under the Act, EU countries will be required to identify and quantify their mineral resources, including virgin materials and potential waste streams. European geoscientists across all areas of research and resource assessment will need to develop new, more efficient, tools, data and data products to support the Act. These will also need to be widely shared and implemented to deliver European-wide resource estimates. Critically, this work will require collaboration with economists, environmental scientists, policymakers and social and behavioural scientists.

This Union Symposium aims to identify the role of geoscientists in delivering the CRM Act for Europe. Discussion will focus on how we can build on previous research, infrastructure and data, and aims to identify new opportunities under collaborative programmes such as Horizon Europe.
Expert Panellists include:
o Mr Gabriel Nievoll, DG Grow, European Commission
o Dr Christoph Poinssot, Deputy CEO Geological Survey of France (BRGM) & EuroGeoSurveys
o Priv. Doz. Dr. Simona Regenspurg, GFZ Helmholtz Centre Potzdam
o Dr Karen Hanghoj, Director British Geological Survey