Periodic Reporting for period 2 - STRADE (Strategic Dialogue on Sustainable Raw Materials for Europe)
Periodo di rendicontazione: 2017-06-01 al 2018-11-30
STRADE supported the European Commission (EC) with analyses, stakeholder dialogues and derived conclusions to assist in shaping political action so as to guarantee Europe access to raw-material supply from diversified global and European sources. At the same time, this raw-material supply increasingly needs to be extracted under responsible mining best-practice standards and to broadly contribute to the sustainable socio-economic development of the host country. As one of the largest international users of minerals the EU should take a leading position in responsible mining & sourcing of raw materials. It has the geo-political influence to attract industrial, emerging and developing countries to the table and helping in the support for more economic contribution from mining. The findings and discussions in STRADE also clearly indicate agreement on a continuing need for engagement for a healthy EU mining sector. Moreover STRADE looked into raw materials required for the electrification of road transport helping with the transition to a low carbon economy.
STRADE concentrated its research on primary raw-material with a strong regional focus on Africa, Latin America and China. Within Europe, STRADE addresses European Union (EU) level policies and not those of individual Member States.
Core recommendations dealt with the following issues:
• Social license to operate and responsible mining practices as one key issue for ensuring access to raw materials in resource-rich countries
• EU engagement for solution-oriented resource governance dialogues
• Practical implementation of EU principles
• EU support for more economic contribution from mining in Africa and developing countries
• EU and MS engagement for governance in resource rich developing countries with weak gov-ernance
• EU and MS support of integrated rural development schemes supporting sustainable artisanal mining
• Dialogue on an alignment of the EU Raw Material Strategy and the African Mining Vision
• EU support of European companies for due diligence and CSR
• Global dialogue including EU-China dialogue on the promotion of responsible mining and sourcing
• EU cooperation with resource-rich industrialized countries
STRADE concentrated its research on primary raw-material with a strong regional focus on Africa, Latin America and China. Within Europe, STRADE addresses European Union (EU) level policies and not those of individual Member States.
Core recommendations dealt with the following issues:
• Social license to operate and responsible mining practices as one key issue for ensuring access to raw materials in resource-rich countries
• EU engagement for solution-oriented resource governance dialogues
• Practical implementation of EU principles
• EU support for more economic contribution from mining in Africa and developing countries
• EU and MS engagement for governance in resource rich developing countries with weak gov-ernance
• EU and MS support of integrated rural development schemes supporting sustainable artisanal mining
• Dialogue on an alignment of the EU Raw Material Strategy and the African Mining Vision
• EU support of European companies for due diligence and CSR
• Global dialogue including EU-China dialogue on the promotion of responsible mining and sourcing
• EU cooperation with resource-rich industrialized countries
STRADE published a wide selection of reports and policy briefs contributing to policy discussion on the above-listed topics. International workshops in Belgium, China, South Africa and Colombia and the large number of policy briefs have shown an impact by creating networks and providing a lot of back-ground analysis to a wider audience (policy makers, business, academics, NGOs). STRADE is well known by experts connected to EU raw materials policy and its final recommendations will enrich the ongoing discussions on the future raw materials policy.
STRADE’S main conclusions and recommendations are summarized in a brochure and are described in detail in the final report. A full list of publications is available on STRADE’s website (https://www.stradeproject.eu/index.php?id=7).
STRADE’S main conclusions and recommendations are summarized in a brochure and are described in detail in the final report. A full list of publications is available on STRADE’s website (https://www.stradeproject.eu/index.php?id=7).
In view of the importance of raw-materials for the EU economy and for global sustainable devel-opment, STRADE has identified various important fields of action for a forward-looking EU raw-material policy. A key recommendation to the EC is to take a leading role in global partnerships and dialogues on responsible value chains and to use European influence and strength for a sustainable global raw-material economy. To achieve this, STRADE recommends building sufficient in-house capacity at the EC and its international embassies that will enable embedding raw-material issues within wider economic policy; trade agreements; development programmes; and national policies, such as land-use planning and related activities.
The EU’s future raw-material policy must be based on partnership. Whether this is through leading multilateral dialogues on responsible mining and sourcing or supporting the creation of international knowledge networks, the EU must play a leading role in shaping the future of the global raw-material sector.
The EU’s future raw-material policy must be based on partnership. Whether this is through leading multilateral dialogues on responsible mining and sourcing or supporting the creation of international knowledge networks, the EU must play a leading role in shaping the future of the global raw-material sector.