Does the EU green transition entrench materiality? An assessment of EU Critical Raw Materials policy in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Greenland

This paper establishes a theoretical tension between the EU net-zero transition, the increased deployment of low-carbon technologies and the impacts of critical raw materials (CRM) extraction. Specifically, the paper focuses on EU CRM Policy, in particular Strategic Partnerships, and how policies can entrench environmental impacts associated with CRM extraction. Through comparative case study analysis of two partner countries, Democratic Republic of Congo and Greenland, we examine how EU CRM policy can entrench negative environmental outcomes. Findings indicate that the focus on carbon- based climate change promotes resource-hungry technological development. Increased extraction to serve these needs leads shifts environmental concerns from carbon emissions to mining impacts. Also, we add to evidence of Greenland’s emergence as a new frontier of extractivism. In response to the increasing burden of CRM mining, the EU must revise its policies to acknowledge and mitigate negative impacts of increased CRM extraction, in order to achieve a truly sustainable net-zero transition.