Extractive industries and mineral resources: turbulence all around

Few global sectors embody the intersections of turbulent environmental, economic, and geopolitical dynamics at multiple scales as well as the extractive industries and mineral extraction. As highly contentious decarbonization efforts proceed and intensify, the economic and strategic value of minerals critical to low-carbon transition has significantly increased for most countries. The chapter discusses different areas of turbulence surrounding the global decarbonization imperative and its significance for the extractives sector. It examines challenges to global extractives and minerals governance and the turbulence surrounding such governance, organizing the analysis into four types of turbulence: ecological, normative, geopolitical, and multi-scalar. Throughout, the chapter considers whether and how existing forms of governance are dealing with identified challenges and turbulence dynamics. It finds significant governance gaps and forecasts turbulent times ahead for minerals markets, politics, and governance at local, national, regional, and global scales.