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Lithium is the cornerstone metal driving Europe’s transition to climate neutrality. Yet, despite the continent’s rich lithium reserves, no operational lithium mines or full-scale refineries exist. In a rapidly shifting geopolitical landscape where critical minerals are increasingly weaponised, Europe’s total reliance on third countries exposes it to significant vulnerabilities.

delves into this contradiction. This documentary aims to (re)build bridges between European civil society and the mining and metals industry to overcome Europe’s lithium paradox. Achieving this requires bold action: strengthening legal frameworks, advancing innovative technologies, enhancing communication, and fostering genuine public engagement. Multi-stakeholder initiatives like the Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance (IRMA) demonstrate how responsible mining can move beyond past questionable practices in the global industry. Prioritising environmental stewardship, fair labour conditions, and meaningful local community involvement, responsible mining can offer a path forward. By embracing this new model, Europe can reconcile its ambitious climate targets with the need to protect local environments and cultures. But as time presses on, we must act swiftly, yet deliberately.

Programme

At 15:00h, the documentary’s presenter, (Director of SIM², the KU Leuven Institute for Sustainable Metals and Minerals) will kick off this Sustainability Dialogue with an introduction to Europe’s Lithium Paradox, followed by a screening of the documentary. After the screening of this documentary, a panel of experts on economic geology (), geopolitics (), environmental law (tba), and cultural anthropology (tba), will discuss questions such as:

• Are European companies truly leading the way in environmental and social standards?
• Will the EU’s Critical Raw Materials Act and its Strategic Projects pave a sustainable path forward?
• Can Europe resolve its lithium paradox while balancing its climate ambitions with the need for local environmental and cultural preservation?

Join this sustainability dialogue and engage with our speakers and the audience! The programme ends around 17:00 and will be followed by drinks.

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About our Sustainability Dialogues

The sustainability dialogues are set up to give a boost to interdisciplinary work between scholars at the UU. We like to do that based on current themes and social issues. For this, we facilitate a platform, our Sustainability Dialogue, which will take place every other month.