The event is by invitation only, for more information and to express your interest in receiving an invitation, please visit the following webpage - www.resourceavailability2017.org/ and complete the form at the bottom of the page.

How do we ensure the availability of strategic materials and mineral resources for a low-carbon world?

Our economic development has been based on an unsustainable exploitation and use of natural resources. World extraction of material resources has tripled over the past 40 years and is expected to at least double with the development of emerging economies. Today, we extract and consume our planet’s resources much faster than what the Earth can renew itself. At the same time, transitioning to a low-carbon economy and energy system may increase demand for some key minerals and strategic materials.

The Veolia Institute’s 10th International Conference, held in partnership with the Oxford Martin School, offers perspectives on how to make strategic materials and mineral resources available for a sustainable future, one that is transitioning to a low-carbon economy. It will build bridges amongst those who can contribute insights and solutions, from academics and the scientific community to policy-makers, civil society leaders, business leaders, financiers and entrepreneurs, across geographies and generations.

Key Themes

• What materials for a low-carbon future? What are the most dynamic sectors in the low-carbon transition, and what are some scenarios for how structural and strategic material use might shift as those sectors grow?
• Primary resource availability in a low-carbon transition: Geological availability may not be the prime constraint to meeting demand for extracted minerals and materials in a low-carbon transition. How might environmental, social, economic and other challenges be mitigated?
• Disruptions in resource availability: the case for the circular economy. A circular economy minimises material and energy inputs and leakage to use and re-use resources efficiently. How can we encourage a true paradigm shift towards a fully circular economy for a low-carbon future?

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