The Netherlands’ raw materials strategy: Important for the digital and energy transition, but a missed opportunity for ‘less production and consumption’

The National Raw Materials Strategy focuses on security of supply of raw materials in the medium (or relatively short) term for the Dutch economy itself. A missed opportunity is the failure to include a strategy for reduced raw materials use through less and alternative product use on the agenda. This is necessary so that our children's children, and less affluent parts of the world, can also share in our prosperity. The National Raw Materials Strategy does not really address this either. A national raw materials strategy for the Dutch economy In December 2022, the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy (EZK) sent the Netherlands' National Raw Materials Strategy to the House of Representatives. With this, EZK implements the Hagen motion, which asked to increase the strategic independence of the Netherlands by developing a raw materials strategy. The reason for this request is the war in Ukraine and other geopolitical developments that put the security of supply of critical raw materials for the energy transition under pressure. The coronavirus crisis had already shown the international interconnectedness of our supply chains. The energy transition and increasing digitisation indeed make the so-called critical raw materials such as lithium, cobalt and rare earth metals increasingly important. The Netherlands and the European Union import many of these critical raw materials or semi-finished products thereof from third countries. Figure 1: Source countries where raw materials for Europe come from ( Rietveld et al., 2022 ) At least 20% coming from China At least 20% coming from Russia This makes the Netherlands and Europe economically dependent and also geopolitically vulnerable. China already set an export quota for rare earth metals in 2010. And since the beginning of this year, the European Union has banned the import of Russian oil. A third problem is the environmental and social issues associated with raw material extraction and refining in some countries. This is especially, but not exclusively, the case in so-called artisanal small-scale mining. Mining leads to deforestation, loss of biodiversity and water scarcity. At least 60% of global cobalt production comes from Congo, where the cobalt mining workforce consists of more than 20% children and 30% women. The National Raw Materials Strategy notes that although raw materials export contributes significantly to the economy of especially low- and middle-income countries, the lack of reliable political-economic institutions in several of these countries, on the other hand, means that sustainable development there lags behind. National Raw Materials Strategy According to the National Raw Materials Strategy, “Preventing negative impact on people and the environment [is] a precondition when striving for greater security of supply”. It is therefore not an end in itself, although one of the distinct perspectives for action does focus on this (see below). The National Raw Materials Strategy says about its central goal: “The energy transition has increased the risk of scarcity of critical raw materials, and geopolitical developments can put international supply under pressure. This increases the risks for our supply chains and thus for the Dutch economy. Therefore, it is of crucial importance to increase the security of supply of critical raw materials where possible. This is therefore the central goal of this strategy.”. The National Raw Materials Strategy wants to achieve this with the following perspectives for action: Circularity and innovation for a more efficient handling of critical raw materials Own sustainable European mining and refining of critical raw materials Diversification of source countries for import of critical raw materials Making international chains more sustainable to achieve Dutch goals for sustainable development, climate and environment Knowledge building and monitoring as a basis for proactive critical raw materials policy These action perspectives align with existing policy initiatives, and are not yet worked out in detail in the raw materials strategy. EZK aims to inform the House of Representatives around the summer of 2023 about a further elaboration of these matters. Evaluation of the National Raw Materials Strategy The focus in the National Raw Materials Strategy is on critical raw materials. This in itself aligns with the Hagen motion, which specifically mentions security of supply of crucial or critical raw materials for the energy transition as the occasion. The focus on critical raw materials is not a problem in itself, but omitting it from the title suggests that the National Raw Materials Strategy is also about non-critical raw materials. In the National Raw Materials Strategy, the definition of critical raw materials excludes, among other things, "...fossil raw materials such as petroleum and natural gas, biotic raw materials such as sugar, grain or wood, and pharmaceutical ingredients for medicines...". With the first perspective for action, the N

The National Raw Materials Strategy focuses on security of supply of raw materials in the medium (or relatively short) term for the Dutch economy itself. A missed opportunity is the failure to include a strategy for reduced raw materials use through less and alternative product use on the agenda. This is necessary so that our children's children, and less affluent parts of the world, can also share in our prosperity. The National Raw Materials Strategy does not really address this either.

A national raw materials strategy for the Dutch economy

In December 2022, the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy (EZK) sent the Netherlands' National Raw Materials Strategy to the House of Representatives. With this, EZK implements the Hagen motion, which asked to increase the strategic independence of the Netherlands by developing a raw materials strategy. The reason for this request is the war in Ukraine and other geopolitical developments that put the security of supply of crucial raw materials for the energy transition under pressure. The coronavirus crisis had already shown the international interconnectedness of our supply chains.

The energy transition and increasing digitisation indeed make the so-called critical raw materials such as lithium, cobalt and rare earth metals increasingly important. The Netherlands and the European Union import many of these critical raw materials or semi-finished products thereof from third countries.

Figure 1: Source countries where raw materials for Europe come from (Rietveld et al., 2022)

At least 20% coming from China

At least 20% coming from Russia

This makes the Netherlands and Europe economically dependent and also geopolitically vulnerable. China already set an export quota for rare earth metals in 2010. And since the beginning of this year, the European Union has banned the import of Russian oil.

A third problem is the environmental and social issues associated with raw material extraction and refining in some countries. This is especially, but not exclusively, the case in so-called artisanal small-scale mining. Mining leads to deforestation, loss of biodiversity and water scarcity. At least 60% of global cobalt production comes from Congo, where the cobalt mining workforce consists of more than 20% children and 30% women.

The National Raw Materials Strategy notes that although raw materials export contributes significantly to the economy of especially low- and middle-income countries, the lack of reliable political-economic institutions in several of these countries, on the other hand, means that sustainable development there lags behind.

National Raw Materials Strategy

According to the National Raw Materials Strategy, “Preventing negative impact on people and the environment [is] a precondition when striving for greater security of supply”. It is therefore not an end in itself, although one of the distinct perspectives for action does focus on this (see below).

The National Raw Materials Strategy says about its central goal: “The energy transition has increased the risk of scarcity of critical raw materials, and geopolitical developments can put international supply under pressure. This increases the risks for our supply chains and thus for the Dutch economy. Therefore, it is of crucial importance to increase the security of supply of critical raw materials where possible. This is therefore the central goal of this strategy.”. The National Raw Materials Strategy wants to achieve this with the following perspectives for action:

Circularity and innovation for a more efficient handling of critical raw materials

Own sustainable European mining and refining of critical raw materials

Diversification of source countries for import of critical raw materials

Making international chains more sustainable to achieve Dutch goals for sustainable development, climate and environment

Knowledge building and monitoring as a basis for proactive critical raw materials policy

These action perspectives align with existing policy initiatives, and are not yet worked out in detail in the raw materials strategy. EZK aims to inform the House of Representatives around the summer of 2023 about a further elaboration of these matters.

Evaluation of the National Raw Materials Strategy

The focus in the National Raw Materials Strategy is on critical raw materials. This in itself aligns with the Hagen motion, which specifically mentions security of supply of crucial or critical raw materials for the energy transition as the occasion. The focus on critical raw materials is not a problem in itself, but omitting it from the title suggests that the National Raw Materials Strategy is also about non-critical raw materials. In the National Raw Materials Strategy, the definition of critical raw materials excludes, among other things, "...fossil raw materials such as petroleum and natural gas, biotic raw materials such as sugar, grain or wood, and pharmaceutical ingredients for medicines...".

With the first perspective for action, the National Raw Materials Strategy aligns with the request in the Hagen motion for a raw materials strategy that, among other things, accelerates the circular economy. To accelerate the circular economy, the National Raw Materials Strategy says it wants to align with the circularity ladder and substitution strategy as recently summarised by the PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency in the following main strategies for circularity:

Narrow the loop (using fewer products; R0-2),

Slow the loop (using products and their parts for longer; R3-7)

Close the loop (high-quality recycling of materials from discarded products; R8), and

Substitution of finite raw materials with renewable and secondary materials

The National Raw Materials Strategy does address the last three strategies, but not the first strategy of using fewer products (by abstaining from them, sharing them or making them more efficient). The latter is remarkable because it is precisely the digital revolution that facilitates car sharing, for example, and has made CDs and DVDs redundant with online services like Spotify and Netflix.

It is a pity that the National Raw Materials Strategy does not address the reduced and more efficient use of products. Not only is this highly effective in reducing raw material use, but it also keeps the necessity of this for fair sharing with future generations and less prosperous countries virtually out of sight. The elephant in the room thus remains invisible, namely that we in the Netherlands must start thinking about how we can consume less and differently (which does not necessarily mean less prosperity).

In conclusion

In summary, the National Raw Materials Strategy only focuses on critical and not on non-critical raw materials, and does not actually address the circularity strategy of using fewer products, even though it is explicitly mentioned as a sub-action perspective. Furthermore, the National Raw Materials Strategy is mainly about how the supply of critical raw materials for the Dutch (and European) economy can be secured.

Of course, not every policy document always has to discuss the full breadth of an issue, and the National Raw Materials Strategy offers many valuable starting points even with this narrower focus. Nevertheless, Recycling Network considers it a (yet another) missed opportunity to get using fewer products firmly on the political and social agenda.