co-organized by UNECE, DG GROW, EuroGeoSurveys, HE projects “Geological Service for Europe” and “FutuRaM”
Learn more about Raw Materials Week 2023
Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and transitioning towards a greener and more resilient society and economy are of utmost importance to the European Union (EU). Critical raw materials are a precondition in accelerating low-carbon energy transition. To address the pressing challenges posed by the climate emergency and geopolitical disturbances, the Critical Raw Materials Act (CRM Act) proposal aims to ensure the EU's access to a secure and sustainable supply of critical raw materials by reducing the negative environmental and societal impacts associated with raw material projects.
Establishing a secure and resilient critical raw materials supply chain requires stakeholders to upscale efforts and foster strong partnerships in sustainable sourcing of these materials. To accomplish this objective, the CRM Act proposal aims to utilize the United Nations Framework Classification for Resources (UNFC) in the context of Strategic and Critical Raw Material Projects. This will provide real-time, pertinent, and internationally comparable data on raw materials across various countries and commodities. UNFC is a well-proven information format that has been tested extensively on European grounds, through case studies and projects, to speed up sustainable resource management in the EU.
UNFC serves several challenges highlighted in the CRM Act proposal. UNFC provides environmental-socio-economic information necessary for sustainable policy and decision-making in the EU. This classification tool can support the CRM Act proposal with effective mitigation of supply risks and protection of the environment by enhancing circularity and sustainability within raw materials projects since UNFC is also applicable to secondary raw materials. Furthermore, the utilization of UNFC can mobilize much-needed investments for Strategic and Critical Raw Materials Projects, ensuring the EU's long-term access to vital resources while promoting the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
This event, co-organized by UNECE, DG GROW, EuroGeoSurveys, and HE projects “Geological Service for Europe” and “FutuRaM”, aims to delve into the progress, updates, and practical application of UNFC in supporting the proposed EU CRM-Act proposal. The event will look first into the policy and regulations aspects of UNFC, followed by technical details and developments on UNFC with regards to the CRM Act proposal. The combination of practical examples, case studies, and in-depth discussions seeks to demonstrate the flexibility of UNFC application to primary and secondary raw materials from exploration projects down to the supply chain and the recycling, including investment projects. The goal of the event is to foster knowledge sharing, collaboration, and industry-driven implementation of UNFC.