Media Contact:
Justin Wasser, (202) 753-7026, jwasser@earthworks.org
Background:
Today the Biden Administration announces major initiatives to reduce demand for irresponsible mining and promote a more just, fair, and equitable materials transition. These actions are in response to President Biden’s Executive Order 14017, “America’s Supply Chains”, which calls for an aggressive approach to mineral recycling, an overhaul of the archaic General Mining Law of 1872, and rules to help ensure that any mining is conducted according to the strongest environmental and labor standards—and only after the free, prior and informed consent of affected communities and Tribal communities.
Statement by Earthworks Policy Director Lauren Pagel:
“The cornerstone of President Biden’s minerals policy must be reform of our nation’s outdated mining regulations and investment in just and equitable solutions to create a circular minerals economy.
“President Biden must keep his environmental justice promises and trust and honor Indigenous knowledge. Our mining laws and rules must be updated to require the free, prior, and informed consent of impacted and marginalized communities to avoid furthering the historic and ongoing injustices from unfettered extraction.”
For More Information
- Earthworks REPORT: Clean Energy Must Not Rely on Dirty Mining finding that the robust recycling, reuse, and substitution of battery minerals can reduce demand for new mines by 25-55%.
- Biden administration Justice40 initiative, a commitment to combating environmental injustice.
- Biden administration commitment to trust in Indigenous Traditional Ecological Knowledge (ITEK) to inform Federal decision making.
- Biden administration Fact Sheet: Securing a Made in America Supply Chain for Critical Minerals