On September 21, 2021, the stakeholders of the CASCADES project took part in a unique policy simulation workshop. The simulation took place in the near future and focused on the cascading effects of climate change-enhanced global weather events and the risk they pose to the EU, particularly to its fledgling green technology industry.
For a few hours, each participant became a representative of one of the European countries, industry organizations, and NGOs, representing the most viable interests of European citizens. They experienced a plausible scenario of a possible critical minerals crisis. Players engaged in bilateral and multilateral negotiations while being pushed in different directions by media and private interests.
The participants collaboratively explored the question: How to ensure a robust and responsible critical minerals supply chain in light of cascading impacts of climate change that originate within and outside the EU?
Here are the effects of their discussion.