In 2023, we made powerful progress on tackling resource overconsumption: as civil society we became more organised; the Belgian incoming EU Presidency made it a priority to call for a new EU framework on sustainable resource management; the EU Critical Raw Materials Act mentions the need to “moderate demand”; we gained popular public attention around Earth Overshoot Day.

A clear highlight was the European Parliament Beyond Growth Conference, of which we were an organising partner. We grew our partnerships for a sustainable economy, including with trade union confederations, feminist groups, anti-racism groups, anti-poverty groups, academic circles and environmental and social NGOs. We were repeatedly asked to organise  follow-up meetings, which shows the leading role we are playing in this field.

We advocated for an ambitious EU Critical Raw Materials Act to include commitments on Indigenous People’s Right to Say No, however it did not make it to the final regulation. The same is said for mining in Natura2000 and other protected areas – mining will continue and maybe even in cases be fast-tracked. We do however see that many more civil society groups are starting to engage on the topics of resource use reduction and mining. The EU NGO Raw Materials Coalition now has more than 50 members, with lively debates and actions towards policy makers, for instance at the EU Raw Materials Week.