Increasing prices of raw materials are a social risk - but also an opportunity for green change. Increasing prices of oil, fossil gas, minerals and other raw materials brings them closer to their actual environmental costs and can be used as an opportunity for green changes. Developed countries need to reduce their use of raw materials in order to reach a fair distribution of limited resources.

Exploding prices of oil, gold, and silver but also of copper, iron, lead, tin, bauxite and other essential raw materials seem to be related to increasing financial speculation in commodities and futures. In a context in which all kind of funds, including hedge funds, are looking for new speculation options, commodities and futures become an attractive alternative.

Nevertheless everything indicates that the behaviour of the financial world is just the tip of the iceberg.

Our global throwaway economy is on a collision course with Earth’s geological resource limits.

The supply of crude may be approaching “Peak Oil” — the point of maximum global petroleum production. Peak may have already occurred. In any case, an energy crisis is presently developing as demand increases for a static supply of oil, driving prices up dramatically. Drastic, uncontrolled price changes will hamper effective investment in alternatives. For this and for environmental reasons, Greens favour a quick, planned phase-out of oil as the dominant economic force. This also applies to many other raw materials. According to the US Geological Survey, if we assume an economic growth of 2% yearly, we have 17 years of exploitable reserves of lead, 19 years for tin, 25 years for copper, 54 years for iron ore and 68 years for bauxite.
Extending mining activities to the most remote areas is threatening the livelihood of local populations. Profits often leave the country and leave local populations as well as governments and countries with environmental costs greater than the benefit of the investment.

The key question therefore is about how far the development of new recycling techniques, product adaptation and new renewable materials will be able to compensate for the shrinking availability of non-renewable resources. Even if new synthetic substitutes are developed we will have to ensure that economic growth is increasingly decoupled from raw material needs.

Greens will work to promote an improvement in resource productivity and the development of substitute products. The working life of products will need to be prolonged and much more sophisticated recycling techniques will be needed.

Neither war for natural resources and energy, nor the rules of a free liberal market can guarantee fair access to these goods for everyone. Greens propose to convene quickly an international conference about fair access to natural resources and energy, similar to the agreement made in Kyoto for greenhouse gases.