Seminar: Non-energy resources, a brake on energy transitions?

Just a few years ago, many people were wondering about the consequences of a growing scarcity of oil: today we know that it is rather the carbon emissions associated with this energy that will limit its use. On the other hand, the transitions in which the world has embarked could come up against the insufficient availability, under satisfactory economic, environmental, social and geopolitical conditions, of certain non-energy resources: among the first identified are rare earths, present in certain flagship products of the energy and digital transitions. The seminar, organised by the French Energy Council on 23 January 2019, focused on the needs associated with innovative technologies, the challenges in terms of substitution and recycling and the consequences on the markets; it then looked at the geopolitical dimension before attempting to answer the question: 'Will strategic resources be a brake on energy transitions?'. Without claiming to sum up the seminar in a few sentences, non-energy resources will not be a bottleneck for energy transitions if, as of today, relevant decisions are taken to encourage substitution and recycling and ensure sustainable access to primary resources