Natural resources are the material foundation of our economy and wellbeing – yet the consequences of their extraction and usage are increasingly destructive.

We need rare earths and other materials to accelerate a green transition especially of the energy sector – but we face challenging questions about impacts and just resource distribution.

In response to the critical issues surrounding natural resource use, Earth4All’s latest deep-dive paper explores the growing geopolitical tensions, environmental risks and economic costs of resource dependency. It asks how we might fundamentally transform the material resources use heading for a circular economy and carbon neutrality and at the same time ensure a fair, sustainable and prosperous future for all.

Join co-authors Monika Dittrich and Peter Hennicke (Wuppertal Institute) and moderator Anders Wijkman (International Resource Panel, Earth4All Transformational Economics Commission) for a conversation about the paper’s analysis, and how our relationship with natural resources influences the path towards a fairer economic system.