In CIRCEUS, scientists and practice actors want to create a sound transdisciplinary basis for the EU’s strategy for critical raw materials which are imported from countries in the Global South. We have asked Anna Pauls from ITA about the new project and learned which activities have already taken place.

Which results can we expect from CIRCEUS?

Anna Pauls: „We assume that the EU’s planned transition will have profound effects on the socio-economic development options of raw material exporting countries in the Global South. Partners from science and practice jointly develop case studies to investigate the influence of changes in supply chains for critical raw materials on societal actors. Together, we will also present the results in scientific publications and at conferences.“

How do the project partners work together?

Anna Pauls: „We collaborate closely on all parts of the project, but we have different thematic and methodological priorities. ÖFSE coordinates the project consortium, establishes the current state of the art in related research, and conducts workshops with stakeholders. The Institute for Social Ecology at BOKU University model’s global material flows for selected critical raw materials. The Institute for Ecological Economics at Vienna University of Economics and Business (WU) models corresponding value chains in an Input-Output model. DKA and Global 2000 contribute from the practice perspective. Ours is an overarching role: In close collaboration with all partners, ITA develops the transdisciplinary concept, coordinates and conceptualises the involvement of stakeholders, and compiles a handbook for stakeholder involvement. The goal is to provide a scientifically sound decision basis for politics in the form of project results and policy recommendations which we co-create with stakeholders, and we want to ensure that decision makers can use this knowledge as well as possible.“

You have presented the project in the workshop „Women in international economics 2026“ by the Research Centre International Economics. How does gender matter for the EU’s critical raw material strategy?

Anna Pauls: „In many regions, access to and decision power over natural resources is very unequally distributed. In that sense, it is not surprising if the discrimination of some groups of society in the Global South and gender segregation in different professional roles can negatively impact productivity and innovation. Simultaneously, the vulnerability for negative impacts varies. This concerns occupational health and safety, pollution in the proximity of extraction sites, forced displacement and the expropriation of assets – and may increase the risk of gender-based violence. The uneven distribution of power and vulnerability in terms of gender interacts strongly with other dimensions: For instance, the interests of indigenous groups are often neglected, and indigenous people are often affected by violence, for example in attempts to appropriate indigenous territories.“

Co-Creation is at the Centre of CIRCEUS. How will its methodological approach facilitate an inclusive and just strategy for critical raw materials and what exactly does that mean for how you conduct the research?

Anna Pauls: „In order to actually take account of all relevant aspects in data collection and modelling, we build a dialogue between science and stakeholders in the Global South right from the beginning of the project. We develop the research questions together. In order for the stakeholder process to comprehensively mirror the perspectives of different groups, we have to ensure a balanced representation and an atmosphere of trust for an open exchange of ideas from the beginning onwards, that is, already when selecting stakeholders. We hope that the balanced gender composition of our team and principal investigators as well as the comprehensive body of research on such processes will help us to address these needs with regard to gender.“

The project has just started, but in the first phase of the application for funding from the FWF, a first workshop was conducted. Are there already some results?

Anna Pauls: „In that workshop, stakeholders from Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Indonesia, Peru and South Africa as well as representatives of the Austrian Ministry of Finances, the Austrian Environmental Agency, the EU-Commission, of the EEA, the EU Joint Research Centre, as well as the German State Authority for Mining have discussed together what aspects CIRCEUS has to take into account in order to contribute to the knowledge base for a just transition in relation to the EU’s need for critical raw materials and arrived at the following conclusions: A ´just and inclusive transition´ as envisioned by the EU Green Deal can only be considered successful if European stakeholders and stakeholders in the affected countries are included. This means, among other things, that different perceptions of Nature and its spiritual as well as cultural value, gender aspects of mining and the lack of participation of indigenous groups are considered in decision processes."