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The set-up of an international agreement on the conservation and sustainable use of geologically scarce mineral resources

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  • Henckens, M.L.C.M.
  • Driessen, P.P.J.
  • Ryngaert, C.
  • Worrell, E.

Abstract

For more than a century, the use of mineral resources has increased exponentially with annual growth percentages of between 4% and 6%. While for most mineral resources, depletion is not an issue, for some mineral resources the current level of extraction is likely to pose a problem for future generations. Depletion of a mineral resource means that its enriched deposits will have been extracted, and consequently it will become much more expensive for future generations to continue to use these minerals. While technology may reduce some of the adverse effects of depletion, future generations may be deprived of potential innovations for which these specific materials would be essential. The question arises as to how the currently unsustainable extraction of mineral resources can be decreased to safeguard them for future generations. It is submitted that it is unlikely that market forces alone will sufficiently impact the prices of minerals to resolve the unsustainable use of certain minerals timely enough. In this article, it is posited that an international agreement on the conversation and sustainable use of geologically scarce minerals is necessary. The agreement will recognize that the geological scarcity of mineral resources differs between different minerals. It will therefore make a selection of priority minerals, determine how far the extraction rate of these substances must be reduced and decide on a fixed time period within which the extraction must decrease from the current rate to a sustainable rate. The design of such an agreement will be based on two basic principles contained in existing international environmental agreements: (1) the inter-generational equity principle and (2) the principle of conservation of natural resources. Furthermore, the obligatory reduction of the extraction of mineral resources will affect the sovereign rights of resource countries to exploit their own resources. Therefore, any international agreement should make arrangements to ensure resource countries are adequately compensated for their loss of income.

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  • Henckens, M.L.C.M. & Driessen, P.P.J. & Ryngaert, C. & Worrell, E., 2016. "The set-up of an international agreement on the conservation and sustainable use of geologically scarce mineral resources," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 92-101.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jrpoli:v:49:y:2016:i:c:p:92-101
    DOI: 10.1016/j.resourpol.2016.04.010
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    2. Emilio Castillo & Roderick Eggert, 2019. "Reconciling Diverging Views on Mineral Depletion: A Modified Cumulative Availability Curve Applied to Copper Resources," Working Papers 2019-02, Colorado School of Mines, Division of Economics and Business.
    3. Juliana Segura-Salazar & Luís Marcelo Tavares, 2018. "Sustainability in the Minerals Industry: Seeking a Consensus on Its Meaning," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(5), pages 1-38, May.
    4. Weiser, Annika & Bickel, Manuel W. & Kümmerer, Klaus & Lang, Daniel J., 2020. "Towards a more sustainable metal use – Lessons learned from national strategy documents," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    5. Yana Ivanova & Veronika Nikeryasova & Nella Balikhina & Aleksey Savrukov, 2018. "Ways to Improve the Mineral Replacement Tax System: Taking the Experience of Commonwealth of Independent States Countries," International Journal of Energy Economics and Policy, Econjournals, vol. 8(5), pages 97-103.
    6. Klossek, Polina & Kullik, Jakob & van den Boogaart, Karl Gerald, 2016. "A systemic approach to the problems of the rare earth market," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 131-140.
    7. Luis Gabriel Carmona & Kai Whiting & Angeles Carrasco & Tânia Sousa & Tiago Domingos, 2017. "Material Services with Both Eyes Wide Open," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(9), pages 1-23, August.
    8. Nassani, Abdelmohsen A. & Aldakhil, Abdullah Mohammed & Zaman, Khalid, 2021. "Ecological footprints jeopardy for mineral resource extraction: Efficient use of energy, financial development and insurance services to conserve natural resources," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).

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