Russia, Ukraine, and the Critical Materials–Energy Nexus

As nations around the world struggle to deal with the humanitarian crisis created by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, they also face difficult choices in balancing near- and long-term economic and envi­ronmental challenges. Europe, in particular, is stuck in a bind between multiple conflicting goals. In the immediate term, the continent must access fossil fuels from other sources in order to offset Russian oil and gas imports and avoid massive disruptions for consumers and industry. On the other hand, Vladimir Putin’s war has served as a clarion call to accelerate plans for decarbonization in order to starve the Russian war machine of revenues and build a more sustainable energy future. Yet this latter goal will also require securing the materials that will enable the construction of new energy sources.

Herein lies the challenge in the climate, energy, and critical materials nexus: countries around the world, already beset by problems from the recent pandemic, with sluggish supply chains, stifled growth, and pro­found socioeconomic shocks, are engaged (with varying degrees of fervor) in the complete transformation of whole industry sectors and their attendant infrastructures. And it turns out that Russia and Ukraine, in addition to food and hydrocarbons, produce many of the key materials that the world needs to decarbonize.