Frauke Seebass (Research Fellow, Wider Europe Programme, Researcher, think nea – New Narratives of EU Integration) was a guest on the Student Podcast of the European Chair for Sustainable Development and Climate Transition at Sciences Po.
Together with Dr Marc Ringel (Chairholder at the European Chair for Sustainable Development and Climate Transition at Sciences Po), Walter Baier, (the president of the European Left) and Zoran Eric (Serbian activist), Seebass discussed the geopolitical and socio-environmental implications of Europe’s growing demand for critical raw materials.
The green transition is accelerating a global race to secure access to critical raw materials, with lithium becoming essential to Europe’s shift toward a low-carbon economy based on electric vehicles, renewable energy, and energy storage technologies. As China currently dominates much of the global lithium supply chain, the European Union is seeking to strengthen its strategic autonomy by developing new extraction sites within or near its borders. One of the most high-profile proposals is the Jadar mining project in western Serbia, which could become a major European source of lithium and boron. However, concerns about environmental degradation, opaque decision-making processes, and the perceived influence of the EU and external actors have triggered strong resistance among local communities in Serbia.
In this podcast episode, the speakers examine the Jadar project both from a local perspective and within the broader context of EU policy and the politics of the green transition.
You can listen to the podcast here.
