States in mineral-rich jurisdictions must promote mining as a development industry just as they must protect people and environment from the worst excesses of extractivism. State Governance of Mining, Development and Sustainability explores how the State’s role in facilitating a developmental and sustainable mining industry has been defined. In doing so, this astute book considers the impact of the policies and laws of mineral-rich States themselves, multilateral international governance institutions, industry associations, and environmental justice advocates in the areas of property relations, mineral taxation, environmental management and mine closure.

This book is open access under a CC-BY license. The multiple purposes of nature – livelihood for communities, revenues for states, commodities for companies, and biodiversity for conservationists – have turned environmental governance in Latin America into a highly contested arena. In such a resource-rich region, unequal power relations, conflicting priorities, and trade-offs among multiple goals have led to a myriad of contrasting initiatives that are reshaping social relations and rural territories. This edited collection addresses these tensions by unpacking environmental governance as a complex process of formulating and contesting values, procedures and practices shaping the access, control and use of natural resources. Contributors from various fields address the challenges, limitations, and possibilities for a more sustainable, equal, and fair development. In this book, environmental governance is seen as an overarching concept defining the dynamic and multi-layered repertoire of society-nature interactions, where images of nature and discourses on the use of natural resources are mediated by contextual processes at multiple scales.

This book explores a disciplinary matrix for the study of the law and governance concerning mining and minerals from a global perspective. The book considers the key challenges of achieving the goals of Agenda 2030 and the transition to low-carbon circular economies. The perspective encompasses the multi-faceted and highly complex interaction of multiple fields of international law and policy, soft law and standards, domestic laws and regulations as well as local levels of ordering of social relations. What emerges is a largely neglected, unsystematised and under-theorised field of study which lies at the intersection of the global economy, environmental sustainability, human rights and social equity. But it also underlies the many loopholes to address at all levels, most notably at the local level – land and land holders, artisanal miners, ecosystems, local economies, local linkages and development. The book calls for a truly cosmopolitan academic discipline to be built and identifies challenges to do so. It also sets a research agenda for further studies in this fast-changing field.

This book addresses the relationship between efficient management of critical minerals and sustainability in the Global South, including Sub-Saharan Africa. Critical minerals are essential raw materials for the technologies that are pivotal in today's energy transition. However, critical mineral host states and communities face social, economic, ecological, political, technological, and governance injustices. The book contends that the criteria currently used in assessing criticality and critical mineral development do not fulfil the sustainable development ambitions of developing countries and that broader considerations must be taken into account to include the stakeholders involved as well as the spatial dimension of the critical mineral value chain. In particular, the book argues that the law must consider the broader context in which minerals become critical to particular processes. It positions this argument within the current context of climate change, the just energy transition, the minerals-energy nexus, and geopolitical tensions. By analysing the copper-cobalt value chain through case studies on DRC, Zambia, China, and the EU, the book provides new avenues for critical mineral development and acknowledges the necessity for sustainability amidst the exacerbated impacts of climate change. Addressing a key challenge of the global energy transition, the book argues for a just holistic framework, which includes parameters such as domestic value addition, human rights in business development, environmental sensitivity, the development of communication channels from remote marginalised communities to international policymakers, and the re-designing of criticality considerations beyond supply and economic aspects.

This book explores a disciplinary matrix for the study of the law and governance concerning mining and minerals from a global perspective. The book considers the key challenges of achieving the goals of Agenda 2030 and the transition to low-carbon circular economies. The perspective encompasses the multi-faceted and highly complex interaction of multiple fields of international law and policy, soft law and standards, domestic laws and regulations as well as local levels of ordering of social relations. What emerges is a largely neglected, unsystematised and under-theorised field of study which lies at the intersection of the global economy, environmental sustainability, human rights and social equity. But it also underlies the many loopholes to address at all levels, most notably at the local level – land and land holders, artisanal miners, ecosystems, local economies, local linkages and development. The book calls for a truly cosmopolitan academic discipline to be built and identifies challenges to do so. It also sets a research agenda for further studies in this fast-changing field.

'The Oxford Handbook of Comparative Environmental Politics' explores some of the most important environmental issues through the lens of comparative politics, including energy, climate change, food, health, urbanization, waste, and sustainability. The chapters delve into more traditional forms of comparative environmental politics (CEP) - the political economy of natural resources and the role of corporations and supply chains - while also showcasing new trends in CEP scholarship, particularly the comparative study of environmental injustice and intersectional inequities.

Aerospace Law and Policy Series Space resource activities—better known as “space mining”—is the next step in humankind’s utilization of outer space. Previous space activities have belatedly caused us to realize that fragile environments do not end with Earth’s atmosphere. Today, the most striking problem is the agglomeration and increasing generation of nonfunctional space objects (space debris) in orbit. Tomorrow, with the development of new space activities, unanticipated environmental problems will arise beyond Earth orbit. This book seeks to anticipate the inevitable legal framework that will need to be put in place and, in particular, considers the necessity to create legal standards to support the environmental sustainability of space resource activities. To that end, the book assesses the efficiency of existing space law in addressing environmental threats and reflects on the potential contribution international environmental law can offer. The array of applicable mechanisms considered includes a detailed examination of the following: what kind of environmental problems may arise from space resource activities; which norms of international law are relevant in addressing these threats within the framework of sustainability; the United Nations Space Treaties; domestic space legislations that directly address space resource activities or that are particularly significant from an environmental perspective; and soft law, especially instruments and guidelines from international organizations acting in the space sector, such as the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS) and the Committee on Space Research (COSPAR). Contrary to a common idea, space resources—such as the ones found in situ on celestial bodies—are limited and need to be managed rationally. It is indubitable that activities beyond Earth orbit will have an impact on the surrounding environment, raising a host of potential issues, which go beyond the question of debris, such as contamination and the risk of overexploitation. Ultimately, this book drafts the roadmap for the environmentally sustainable exploitation of space resources from a legal standpoint and proposes a sustainability framework articulated around a set of standards. Concerned lawyers and policymakers worldwide will greatly appreciate the book’s set of objective standards and concrete measures. This practical approach, which includes the comprehensive review of instruments governing space activities, will lead them to navigate with assurance the different normative levels of legal action for astro-environmentalism.