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Arctic Economic Council

AEC

The Arctic Economic Council (AEC) is an independent organization that facilitates Arctic business-to-business activities and responsible economic development through the sharing of best practices, technological solutions, standards, and other information.

Lobbying Activity

Response to European Critical Raw Materials Act

24 Oct 2022

The Arctic Economic Council (AEC) welcome the European Critical Raw Materials Act and support the idea that EU diversity and increases its supply of CRM. We believe it is important for the EU to source their CRM from responsible mining and trusted allies partner. Those mining destinations are most likely found in the north – in the Arctic region. We therefore strongly encourage the European Commission to link the new Act with its joint communication on the Arctic from 2021, where a key part was ensuring sustainable and responsible extraction from the Arctic. For this to be achieved we need a better mapping of Arctic mining opportunities as well as better communication with potential private stakeholders. Here the EU could play a role in hosting an annual Arctic Mining Opportunities event. Furthermore, a desktop mapping of the opportunities in the high north when it comes to ERM and the current availability of those in the Arctic. AEC welcomes the focus on strengthening the EU’s CRM value chain and believe that it can create new jobs in the most remote parts of Europe if it comes with proper investments into the mines as well as to infrastructures and R&D. In short, the AEC encourages the European Commission to clearly state the role of the Arctic region as a place of responsible mining and low-risk investments in the Act.
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