Responding to growing demand for the critical minerals associated with the energy transition has emerged as a key global sustainable development challenge. While the laudable ambition to reduce greenhouse gas emissions is a strong driver of the current energy transition, if we end up with less greenhouse gases in the atmosphere but with similar levels of harm and conflict as we experienced during the era of fossil fuels, then we will have missed an opportunity to achieve the broader sustainability transition we want and need.
The One-SEI program on mining and minerals seeks to generate knowledge and tools which will allow the energy transition, which will likely require some level of increase in the production of critical minerals through mining, to unfold freer from the impacts of past extractive activity. Efforts to generate knowledge and tools to improve decisions related to the energy transition will be guided by adopting a holistic view of the local to global critical mineral systems and by understanding that perspectives on what would constitute responsible critical mineral production through mining will vary among the different actors operating within this system. What is critical to some actors may not be to others.
Recognizing that perspectives as to what would constitute responsible critical mineral production in response to the global energy transitions vary across scales, geographies, and cultures, this program seeks to understand how these perspectives fit within the local-to-global critical mineral system. Drawing upon the diverse experience of SEI researchers working in Europe, Asia, Africa, Latin America and North America on issues ranging from global geopolitics and security to local mining impact assessment, the program will:
SEI podcast / In this podcast episode SEI’s Laura Forni explores how lithium mining in the Andean mountains is impacting Indigenous communities.
Perspective / The EU and Mercosur countries' treaty puts the two trade blocks in a position to lead towards responsible production of these materials for a green transition.
Press release / A new method developed by SEI shows how risks can be reduced and offer better protection of Sámi rights and a fairer management of land use.
Journal article / A comprehensive literature review of studies on local mineral mining impacts show that mining negatively affects the health and wellbeing of women and children.
SEI report / Fallstudie av LKAB:s ansökta Per Geijer-projekt och av risker för Gabna sameby
SEI brief / This policy brief discusses the importance of involving Indigenous Peoples in lithium mining decisions in the Argentine Altiplano.
Journal article / This article uses Indigenous frameworks in proposing indicators aligned with the UN SDGs for lithium mining in Argentina.
Journal article / Rapid EV battery growth enables fast shifts in technology, reducing mineral criticality risks and broadening future supply pathways.
Journal article / This study offers a methodological contribution to improving the assessment of critical raw materials, with relevance for both researchers and policymakers.
Journal article / This article analyses how companies across critical raw material global value chains in France apply mandatory human rights and environmental due diligence.
Journal article / This article examines the gap between environmental impact assessments (EIAs) for new mines in Sweden and actual impacts experienced by the Indigenous Sámi.
Journal article / This article examines how European firms navigate the synergies and trade-offs in critical mineral supply chains.
Journal article / This article examines common legal paradigms and their effects on mediating mining conflicts.
SEI working paper / Learn how the new EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive could affect mining projects and Sámi rights in northern Sweden.
Journal article / The article presents an empirical analysis of mining impacts on Sámi reindeer herding in two cases from Sweden.
Journal article / This paper reports the results of a systematic mapping of research evidence of the impacts of metal mining in Arctic and boreal regions.
Journal article / Protocol for a systematic mapping of impacts of metal mining in Arctic and boreal regions
Journal article / Aims and methods for developing an an interactive, cartographic map of the impacts of metal mining on Arctic social-ecological systems.
Project / Mistra Mineral Governance research project aims to help decision-makers in Sweden and the EU navigate the critical mineral governance landscape.
Project / Helping policymakers to develop strategies for sustainable governance of natural resources and adaptation to transboundary climate risks.
Project / SEI supports the water resources decision-making process in basins in Argentina and Bolivia where demands for critical minerals are increasing.
Project / An empirical investigation of "extraction contracting" between green transition industries and the Indigenous Sámi peoples.
Project / Circular and Sustainable Steel Transitions (CAST) continues the work done by SEI and Lund University in the HYBRIT project.
Project / This project aims to accurately diagnose climate risk in critical mineral supply chains and build the resilience of communities embedded in the mining sector.
Project / C-SINK aims to transform the CDR market in Europe, focusing on innovation and sustainability to achieve net negative CO2 emissions.
Project / SEI and the Mining-Energy Planning Unit of Colombia are partnering to integrate SDGs and NDCs, and investigate best practices in Colombia's mining sector.
Project / Svemin, together with SEI, initiated a project to analyse the role of the mining and minerals industry in the shift towards a sustainable future.
Project / As mining in the Arctic increases, there is an urgent need to assess social and environmental impacts as well as mitigate negative impacts.
Project / SEI supports the water resources decision-making process in basins in Argentina and Bolivia where demands for critical minerals are increasing.
Project / SEI and the Mining-Energy Planning Unit of Colombia are partnering to integrate SDGs and NDCs, and investigate best practices in Colombia's mining sector.
Project / This project seeks to inform planning on lithium mining in the Americas that minimizes its negative social and environmental effects.
Event on 16 November in Antalya / The event explores how governance of critical mineral systems can reconcile distant benefits and localised impacts to promote a just transition.
Other publication / The 9th ASEAN Energy Outlook explores three energy scenarios through 2060, six policy directions and pathways to strengthen regional energy security.
Past event / SEI's Francis X. Johnson joins a Global Bioeconomy Summit 2026 panel on how biofuels can accelerate a sustainable bioeconomy.
