Title page 1

Contents 6

Glossary of Abbreviations 8

Executive Summary 9

1. Critical Minerals: The Oil of the 21st Century 15

2. Critical Minerals Across the Globe 22

3. Critical Minerals: Water Insecurity and Injustice in Global Sustainability Transitions 29

3.1. Water Insecurity 30

3.1.1. Water Scarcity and Depletion 30

3.1.2. Water Insecurity and Local Agricultural Livelihoods 37

3.2. Emerging Health Disparities 39

3.3. Economic, Environmental, Social and Health Injustices 44

4. Critical Minerals: Future Actions in Pursuit of Justice 49

References 58

Figure 1. Distribution of costs and benefits of critical minerals extraction between extraction and consumption zones: The economic... 11

Figure 2. Critical minerals and their functional roles in energy transition and advanced technologies, as classified according to the U.S.... 17

Figure 3. Global clusters of critical mineral deposits and sites, derived from USGS geospatial point data on mines, deposits, districts,... 21

Figure 4. Global reserves of selected critical minerals required for the energy transition, based on data from the U.S. Geological... 25

Figure 5. The share of global dry (non-refined) production for selected critical minerals required for the energy transition, using data... 27

Figure 6. Improved drinking water sources are water supplies classified by infrastructure type, including piped connections, boreholes... 32

Figure 7. Improved sanitation facilities are those intended to ensure hygienic separation between human excreta and direct human contact.... 35

Figure 8. Mortality from unsafe water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) across countries. This is defined under SDG indicator 3.9.2 to reflect... 42

Figure 9. Wastewater treatment, defined under SDG indicator 6.3.1, measures the proportion of domestic and industrial wastewater flows that... 46

Figure 10. Summarizes the key actions expected from major stakeholder groups across the critical minerals supply chain. The figure outlines... 54