CIRCEUS - A Circular Low Carbon EU and the Global South

The European Union has set ambitious goals: the economy is to become climate-friendly, digital, and circular. Central to this transformation are the decarbonisation of the energy systemfrom generation to consumption, meaning the phase-out of fossil fuels and the shift to renewablesas well as the comprehensive reuse and more efficient use of raw materials. This transformation will profoundly change Europes demand for resources. Some materials will be needed less in the future, while others, even in the short term, will be required significantly more. What has received little attention so far is that many of the raw materials requiredsuch as metals for green technologiesmust be imported from the Global South. These countries are often heavily dependent on resource exports and face the dual challenge of adapting to changing EU demand while bearing the social and environmental costs of intensified mining. At the same time, EU strategies carry not only risks but also opportunities for new development pathways. This is where the new research project CIRCEUS comes in. CIRCEUS examines how the EUs resource demand will evolve through the green transition and what effects this could have on resource- exporting countries in the Global South. The aim is to provide a solid scientific basis for developing political and societal strategies so that Europes ecological transformation does not create new social or environmental inequalities elsewhere. The EUs resource transition can only be considered successful if it also integrates global justice. CIRCEUS aims to contribute to ensuring that this transformation is fairthrough new forms of cooperation, evidence-based policymaking, and strong partnerships, explains Dr. Bernhard Tröster of the Austrian Foundation for Development Research (ÖFSE), which coordinates the project. The project brings together a transdisciplinary team from research and civil society: in addition to ÖFSE, the Vienna University of Economics and Business (WU), the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences (BOKU), and the Institute of Technology Assessment of the Austrian Academy of Sciences (ÖAW-ITA) are involved. The team is complemented by the civil society organizations Dreikönigsaktion (DKA) and GLOBAL 2000, which maintain strong cooperation networks in Europe and the Global South. CIRCEUS combines a range of methodological approaches: scenarios and environmental-economic modelling, policy discourse analysis, and above all stakeholder engagement in the EU and the Global South. With its transdisciplinary approach, the project aims to highlight diverse perspectives on the green transition, identify potential trade-offs, and develop options for a more socially just resource policy. In doing so, CIRCEUS contributes to SDG 17 (Global Partnerships) and illustrates how Europe can take responsibility in a globalized world.