Green Ambitions and Raw Realities – Can We Really Fund the Green Transition?

Marlow Global’s new report, Green Ambitions and Raw Realities, warns that political instability and funding shortages for exploration and development of critical minerals will slow down the green transition

• The report warns that political instability and funding shortages for the exploration and mining of critical minerals will challenge efforts to meet demand for the green transition.
• Increased political risks and resource protectionism over the exploration, mining, development, and export of critical minerals are making it harder to attract significant capital to the upstream market.
• Export controls in Latin America, Africa and Asia, restrictions on foreign investment, and a weakened WTO regime leave mining companies exposed. Current political risk guarantees cannot protect against political interference.
• Rising geopolitical tensions and the undeniable effects of climate change have propelled governments and communities into action, with multiple incentive packages, friend-shoring agreements and new industrial policies.
• However, experts cast doubt over the affordability and efficacy of policy initiatives such as the EU Critical Raw Materials Act and the US Inflation Reduction Act, designed to wrest control from China. The incentives for upstream activities are not compelling enough for investors to move away from more secure investments.
• A lack of consensus around ESG standards and implementation weakens complex relations between government, investors, miners and communities.