Τμήμα Ιστορίας και Φιλοσοφίας της Επιστήμης

Sophia Kalantzakos-The Geopolitics of Critical Minerals

The decarbonization of the global economy in response to the climate crisis and the fourth industrial revolution, featuring artificial intelligence (AI) and 5G networks (massively accelerated in response to the coronavirus pandemic), has triggered a race to secure uninterrupted access to critical raw minerals (CRMs) that are indispensable inputs for high-technology applications. Moreover, China’s Belt and Road Initiative, which unites Eurasia and Africa and loops in South America into a seamless space of trade, infrastructure and digital connectivity, challenges the dominance of traditional industrial powers (the United States, the European Union and Japan) and requires critical minerals. Rare earths, lithium and cobalt – among the most critical of the CRMs – are found in high geographic concentration, creating hotspots of contention, especially in unstable parts of the world. As economic transformations accelerate, securing access to these materials will both impact and help shape geopolitics in the years to come.

Sophia Kalantzakos is Global Distinguished Professor in Environmental Studies and Public Policy at New York University/ NYU Abu Dhabi. She is currently Senior Fellow at the Research Institute for the History of Science and Technology at Caltech and the Huntington. Her most recent books include China and the Geopolitics of Rare Earths (Oxford University Press, 2018) and The EU, US, and China Tackling Climate Change: Policies and Alliances for the Anthropocene (Routledge, 2017).

 

Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89318170455?pwd=N2VWd2tweGJjcFN4Z3VxTjFGVzJkQT09

 

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