Call for input to literature review of past mining transitions

Stockholm Environment Institute is undertaking a review of the literature on past natural resource transitions, with attention to energy resources but also natural resources more broadly (e.g. other minerals extraction, fisheries).  The aim is to highlight key insights about the political dynamics and management of past transitions, as a basis for informing future transitions. To expand the scope and increase coverage of – especially grey – literature, the SEI team performing the review is reaching out to expert communities on extractive industries for recommendations about references on past cases of mining and pit closure or abandonment, their socio-economic and environmental impacts, and/or strategies and plans to address or mitigate these impacts. Literature in both English or Spanish is included.

Please contact Claudia Strambo (claudia.strambo@sei-international.org) for sharing relevant literature or for any enquiries.

Background and more information

If global warming is to be limited to 2°C above pre-industrial levels, research suggests a third of the world’s oil reserves, half of its gas reserves and more than 80% of its coal reserves should remain unused from 2010 to 2050.[i]  This understanding has spurred considerable work on the economic implications of transitions away from fossil fuels – especially coal – production, in line with the technological- and cost- oriented focus that has been dominating green/low-carbon transition studies. However, in parallel, attention has recently been given to transitions’ impacts on different social groups. The debate on just transitions is an example of it.

Climate change policy, in parallel with other environmental and social imperatives and with changing energy technologies, is likely to spur a series of coal mine closures across the world over coming decades. This is a delicate challenge, especially for coal producing countries to address, because resource extraction often plays important economic and social functions.

Some have started to look at, notably by drawing lessons on past cases of coal transitions.[ii] Still, policy discourses on transitions tend to rely heavily on theory and only on a few empirical examples, most of them in developed countries.

Within this context, it is essential to draw on the lessons from past experiences.  To this end, the Stockholm Environment Institute is undertaking a review of the literature on past natural resource transitions. The study will collect and assess existing empirical evidence about the causes, processes and outcomes of transitions away from various kinds of resource extraction, whether at local, regional or national scales, and from all geographic regions globally. We are interested not only in energy resources but in natural resources more broadly (e.g. other minerals extraction, fisheries), since many of the socio-economic logics and challenges with phasing out these activities are likely to be similar.  Based on the literature reviewed, we aim to highlight key insights about the political dynamics and management of past transitions, as a basis for informing future transitions.

To expand the scope of our review and increase our coverage of – especially grey – literature, the SEI team performing the review is reaching out to expert communities on extractive industries for recommendations about references on past cases of mining and pit closure or abandonment, their socio-economic and environmental impacts, and/or strategies and plans to address or mitigate these impacts. Literature in both English or Spanish is included.

Any references or suggestions from the Arctic research and practitioners’ community would be of great value and highly appreciated.

Please contact Claudia Strambo (claudia.strambo@sei-international.org) for sharing relevant literature or for any enquiries.

[i] McGlade, C. and Ekins, P. (2015). The geographical distribution of fossil fuels unused when limiting global warming to 2 °C. Nature, 517(7533). 187–90. DOI:10.1038/nature14016.

The analysis is based on the cumulative carbon budget for 2011–2050 that is consistent with a 50% or better likelihood of keeping warming below 2°C.

[ii] Caldecott, B., Sartor, O. and Spencer, T. (2017). Lessons from past ‘coal transitions’. High-level Summary for  Decision-makers, IDDRI and Climate Strategies, URL: https://coaltransitions.org/reports/.

Image: Mazarrón Mine in Spain Credit: Jesús Pérez Pacheco via Flickr.com

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