On 18 November 2024, the International Energy Agency (“IEA”) published a detailed 163-page Report titled “Recycling of Critical Minerals: Strategies to Scale Up Recycling and Urban Mining” (the “Report”). The Report emphasizes the importance of recycling in securing the supply of essential minerals – such as copper, lithium, cobalt, and rare earths – which are needed for the so-called clean energy transition.
The Report underscores the need for robust recycling practices that create secondary supply sources that reduce reliance on mining. The IEA calls for greater clarity on policies and regulations to support the uptake of recycling – particularly of electric vehicle (“EV”) batteries – and sets out nine high-level policy recommendations.
The Report covers the following topics:
- Current Recycling Landscape: discussing recycling performance indicators, historical trends, and region-specific data for critical minerals;
- Future Outlook: discussing the potential for secondary supply, focusing on sectors like EV batteries, e-waste, and mining waste;
- Cross-Cutting Challenges: examining economic, technological, and regulatory hurdles; and
- Policy Frameworks: outlining strategies to scale up recycling, including regulatory harmonization, financial incentives, and workforce training.
The IEA’s nine policy recommendations set out in the Report are as follows:
- Develop comprehensive, long-term policy roadmaps with clear goals;
- Harmonize global waste management and recycling regulations;
- Strengthen domestic recycling infrastructure through mandates and incentives;
- Promote traceability and certifications to increase trust in recycled materials;
- Provide financial support for innovation, R&D, and workforce development;
- Enhance recycling systems in developing economies with technical and financial aid;
- Address data gaps to improve decision-making and investment;
- Encourage circular economy practices beyond recycling, such as reuse and refurbishment; and
- Mitigate environmental, social, and governance (“ESG”) risks in recycling processes.
For each of these policy recommendations, the Report describes existing policies that address some aspects of the recommendation – such as the EU’s Critical Raw Materials Act (“CRMA”), outlined in our prior blog.
The IEA produced this Report in response to the request by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Italy as part of its G7 agenda. The Report calls on policymakers at the national, regional, and global level to take coordinated action to integrate recycling into mineral supply chains for a clean energy transition.
* Created in 1974, the IEA is an intergovernmental organization whose 31 member countries and 13 association countries account for 75% of global energy demand. The core role of the IEA is providing policy advice to its member and association countries to enhance the reliability, affordability, and sustainability of energy.