Enhancing ASEAN’s Role in Critical Mineral Supply Chains
Enhancing ASEAN’s Role in Critical Mineral Supply Chains

Author: Sharon Seah

Publisher: ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute

Published: 2024-02-27

Total Pages: 38

ISBN-13: 9815203231

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

The clean energy transition momentum is gathering pace globally, and in Southeast Asia as well. The transition is dependent on an uninterrupted supply of critical minerals and metals that are essential for the production of low-carbon technologies. The supply of critical minerals is impeded by several constraints. First is the dominance of a handful of countries in both the upstream and downstream parts of the supply chain. Second is the current geopolitical race to secure supplies leading to greater protectionist behaviours, exhibited through export bans and trade impediments. This study focuses on four selected critical minerals which are important to the region. Two criteria are used in determining a mineral having high significance: (1) There are significant deposits of it which can be tapped on to bolster Southeast Asia’s strategic position in the supply chains; and (2) It is an essential input in industries and sectors of importance in Southeast Asia. The four critical minerals examined in this study are: copper, nickel, bauxite (alumina), and rare earth elements (REEs). The study makes three recommendations to enhance ASEAN’s role in the critical minerals supply chains. The first addresses the insufficiency of investments in early-stage exploration and exploitation of critical minerals and, in the process, calls for an embracing of circular economy principles. The second appeals for investments at all stages, including in technology to tap into downstream activities beyond refining and purification, and in the manufacturing of component parts such as battery cell storage and permanent magnets. The third calls for improvements in sustainability management in the mining sector, which is generally extremely environmentally and socially damaging to communities.

ASEAN Centrality and the ASEAN-US Economic Relationship
ASEAN Centrality and the ASEAN-US Economic Relationship

Author: Peter A. Petri

Publisher:

Published: 2014-02-21

Total Pages: 75

ISBN-13: 9780866382465

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is strategically significant because of its size, dynamism, and role in the Asian economic and security architectures. This paper examines how ASEAN seeks to strengthen these assets through "centrality" in intraregional and external policy decisions. It recommends a two-speed approach toward centrality in order to maximize regional incomes and benefit all member economies: first, selective engagement by ASEAN members in productive external partnerships and, second, vigorous policies to share gains across the region. This strategy has solid underpinnings in the Kemp-Wan theorem on trade agreements. It would warrant, for example, a Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement with incomplete ASEAN membership, complemented with policies to extend gains across the region. The United States could support this framework by pursuing deep relations with some ASEAN members, while broadly assisting the region's development.

China's Changing Trade and the Implications for the CLMV
China's Changing Trade and the Implications for the CLMV

Author: Mr.Koshy Mathai

Publisher: International Monetary Fund

Published: 2016-09-01

Total Pages: 84

ISBN-13: 1475531710

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

China’s trade patterns are evolving. While it started in light manufacturing and the assembly of more sophisticated products as part of global supply chains, China is now moving up the value chain, “onshoring” the production of higher-value-added upstream products and moving into more sophisticated downstream products as well. At the same time, with its wages rising, it has started to exit some lower-end, more labor-intensive sectors. These changes are taking place in the broader context of China’s rebalancing—away from exports and toward domestic demand, and within the latter, away from investment and toward consumption—and as a consequence, demand for some commodity imports is slowing, while consumption imports are slowly rising. The evolution of Chinese trade, investment, and consumption patterns offers opportunities and challenges to low-wage, low-income countries, including China’s neighbors in the Mekong region. Cambodia, Lao P.D.R., Myanmar, and Vietnam (the CLMV) are all open economies that are highly integrated with China. Rebalancing in China may mean less of a role for commodity exports from the region, but at the same time, the CLMV’s low labor costs suggest that manufacturing assembly for export could take off as China becomes less competitive, and as China itself demands more consumption items. Labor costs, however, are only part of the story. The CLMV will need to strengthen their infrastructure, education, governance, and trade regimes, and also run sound macro policies in order to capitalize fully on the opportunities presented by China’s transformation. With such policy efforts, the CLMV could see their trade and integration with global supply chains grow dramatically in the coming years.

Critical Materials Strategy
Critical Materials Strategy

Author: Steven Chu

Publisher: DIANE Publishing

Published: 2011-05

Total Pages: 166

ISBN-13: 1437944183

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

This report examines the role of rare earth metals and other materials in the clean energy economy. It was prepared by the U.S. Department of Energy (DoE) based on data collected and research performed during 2010. In the report, DoE describes plans to: (1) develop its first integrated research agenda addressing critical materials, building on three technical workshops convened by the DoE during November and December 2010; (2) strengthen its capacity for information-gathering on this topic; and (3) work closely with international partners, including Japan and Europe, to reduce vulnerability to supply disruptions and address critical material needs. Charts and tables. This is a print on demand report.

Critical Minerals, Sustainability, and the Energy Transition in the Global South
Critical Minerals, Sustainability, and the Energy Transition in the Global South

Author: Susan Nakanwagi

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2024-11-14

Total Pages: 213

ISBN-13: 1509976728

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

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.

Navigating East Asian Maritime Conflicts
Navigating East Asian Maritime Conflicts

Author: Paul Midford

Publisher: Springer Nature

Published: 2024

Total Pages: 433

ISBN-13: 3031519892

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

“This volume brings together leading experts to examine the potentials for maritime conflict and cooperation in a region where geopolitical rivalries are intensifying. I highly recommend it to scholars, practitioners, and students alike.” —Miranda A. Schreurs, Professor, Technical University of Munich. “With an original approach to maritime conflicts that focuses on the effects of technological and environmental change, this is a must-read for anyone interested in East Asian peace and security!” — Stein Tønnesson, Research Professor Emeritus, Peace Research Institute Oslo “A crucial read for anyone interested in understanding the complexities of maritime conflicts in East Asia and their broader global implications.” —Yurika Ishii, Associate Professor, National Defense Academy of Japan “The volume offers multi-disciplinary perspectives that reach across disciplinary boundaries and connect perspectivesfrom natural sciences and engineering to social sciences and policy.” —Clive Schofield, Professor, University of Wollongong, Australia As technological development and diffusion have greatly increased the resources states can recover from maritime space, the stakes of these conflicts have grown. Nowhere is this clearer than in East Asia. This book examines how technological change and diffusion impact East Asian maritime conflicts, and approaches for conflict management and resolution. Paul Midford is Professor of Political Science, Meiji Gakuin University, Japan. Jennifer L. Bailey is Professor of Political Science, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Norway. Katja Levy is Associate Professor of Political Science, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Norway. Espen Moe is Professor of Political Science, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Norway.

ASEAN Economic Community Blueprint
ASEAN Economic Community Blueprint

Author: ASEAN Studies Centre

Publisher: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies

Published: 2009

Total Pages: 113

ISBN-13: 9812309322

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

On 28 July 2008, the ASEAN Studies Centre and the Regional Economic Studies Programme, both of the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, and the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung organized a roundtable on The ASEAN Economic Community Blueprint. The brainstorming session gathered Southeast Asian experts from the region to discuss the AEC Blueprint, which ASEANs leaders had adopted at their summit meeting in November 2007, and the prospects of any obstacles to its implementation by the target year, 2015. The roundtable started with a progress report on the AEC Blueprint given by S. Pushpanathan, Principal Director of Economic Integration and Finance, ASEAN Secretariat, Jakarta. Thereafter, the sessions examined the various aspects of the Blueprint tackling the non-tariff barriers, designing a comprehensive ASEAN Investment Agreement, a regional framework for competition policy, the role of infrastructure development in economic integration, the importance of international production networks in economic integration, etc.

The Geopolitics of the Global Energy Transition
The Geopolitics of the Global Energy Transition

Author: Manfred Hafner

Publisher: Springer Nature

Published: 2020-06-09

Total Pages: 398

ISBN-13: 3030390667

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

The world is currently undergoing an historic energy transition, driven by increasingly stringent decarbonisation policies and rapid advances in low-carbon technologies. The large-scale shift to low-carbon energy is disrupting the global energy system, impacting whole economies, and changing the political dynamics within and between countries. This open access book, written by leading energy scholars, examines the economic and geopolitical implications of the global energy transition, from both regional and thematic perspectives. The first part of the book addresses the geopolitical implications in the world’s main energy-producing and energy-consuming regions, while the second presents in-depth case studies on selected issues, ranging from the geopolitics of renewable energy, to the mineral foundations of the global energy transformation, to governance issues in connection with the changing global energy order. Given its scope, the book will appeal to researchers in energy, climate change and international relations, as well as to professionals working in the energy industry.