Source: EurActiv
04 February 2011 - Major rare earth-consuming countries should join forces to diversify their supply sources and develop substitutes for such materials, Keiichi Kawakami of the Japanese Ministry for Industry said yesterday (3 February).
Following the adoption of EU policy plans on raw materials on Wednesday (2 February), all major countries have devised rare earths strategies and "it is high time" to strengthen international cooperation, said Kawakami.
The deputy director-general of the Manufacturing Industries Bureau at the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) was in the European Parliament to present Japan's Rare Earth Elements (REE) Strategy.
The strategy was adopted in October 2010 after China, which accounts for 97% of world production of rare earths, halted shipments to Japan over a territorial dispute last September.
China has been gradually reducing export quotas for rare earths since 2005 as part of an effort to retain more of the minerals for domestic industry, a policy that has caused alarm among nations that depend on them for high-tech and military applications. The country is now mulling a full export ban as of 2015.
These developments have also caused concern also among worldwide manufacturers of high-tech products, ranging from computers to electric car batteries and wind turbines, and have fuelled EU worries about access to materials.
The US Department of Energy (DOE) adopted a Critical Materials Strategy in December 2010, with a special focus on clean energy.
Triangular cooperation
Kawakami noted that the United States and Japan had already held a roundtable on rare earths in late November 2010 and are to renew the experience later this spring. EU and US officials met to discuss the same topic in early December.
"All of the [rare earth-]consuming countries' problems need to be solved through cooperation," said Kawakami, suggesting that countries like Japan, the US and the EU build a "triangular cooperation" network.
He said that the focus should be on better understanding the supply chain, strengthening efforts to diversify supply sources, increasing recycling, and developing both substitute materials and new technologies that reduce the amount of rare earths used.
Cooperation is also needed to encourage China to "establish quotas sufficient to prevent adverse effects on the world industrial supply chain," Kawakami added.
For the complete article, please see EurActiv.
Peat areas have played a pivotal role in conflicts globally, and have also been a point of contention during post-conflict recovery. Communities in Southeast Asia as well as in the countries of the Congo are facing challenges as finding political solutions for this problem.
Ignoring cross border impacts of large infrastructure projects will spark conflict along rivers, argues Peter King. National level environmental impact assessments that ignore cross border impacts are likely to create conflict between countries.
On a visit at short notice to Germany, Russian President Vladimir Putin has met with German Chancellor Angela Merkel to discuss a range of bilateral and international issues, including the conflicts in Syria and Ukraine, and the future of the controversial gas pipeline project Nord Stream 2. The pair met for the second time within just three months to talk about the project.
Australia’s new prime minister will not walk away from the Paris climate agreement, although his new policies now make it unlikely the country will meet its emissions reduction goal. Ongoing trade talks with the EU could also hinge on how climate policy continues to develop.