Clean and climate neutral planet and mineral resources in the EU

Abstract

The directions of EU activities in the field of mineral resources and their extraction, which are important for the development of the economy, are presented herein. The breakthrough in the EU came in 2008 with the announcement of the new Raw Materials Policy (RMP) and its presentation in Brussels in 2007. The long-term negligence of the EU authorities in terms of the lack of investment in research and development in the extractive industry in successive innovation programs implemented by the EU has been noticed. Changes in the global market at the end of the 20th century made the EU economy highly dependent from the import of many raw materials [1, 2]. The RMP plan adopted for implementation included 10 activities covering the EU bodies, member states and the mining industry. In the following years (2011-2012), a program aimed at strengthening the raw materials policy, called EIP on RM - innovative partnership on raw materials, appeared. It also resulted in an increase in expenditure on activities in the area of circular economy. The new innovation program Horizon Europe planned for 2021-2027 also provided for the important role of raw materials in the field of clean energy development and the implementation of the principles of the «green deal» , which is expected to reduce climate change plan in the EU by 2050 [3]. It is assumed that the principles of the EU's «green deal» are to be a model for other countries / continents of the world to follow.