The rapid expansion of clean energy technologies has made critical minerals a central pillar of global energy transition. Current policy debates, however, frame critical minerals largely as a geopolitical and supply security issue, often overlooking the social and environmental impacts of their extraction and processing. This paper asks two questions: 1) how the benefits and burdens of critical mineral supply chains are distributed across communities, states and global supply chains; and 2) what this reveals about distribution and energy hardship within the energy transition.
Drawing on the theoretical framework of justice theory, this paper analyses critical minerals governance through three dimensions i.e. distributive, procedural and recognition justice. It extends this framework by treating hardship as the burden borne by local communities such as livelihood loss, environmental damage etc and economic resilience as the capacity of communities and governance systems to anticipate, contest, and adapt to these burdens.
Using the comparative case study approach from the regions of Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the Lithium Triangle (Argentina, Bolivia and Chile) and India, the paper examines, how “resource rich” countries and local communities experience the environmental, social, and economic impacts of mineral extraction and processing while remaining largely excluded from the value chain opportunities.
The analysis argues that governance failures generate new forms of vulnerability and political contestation within the clean energy transition. It further demonstrates that resilient transitions depend upon governance arrangements that ensure meaningful participation, recognise community rights, and distribute transition benefits more equitably. By connecting critical minerals governance with broader debates on energy justice, hardship, and resilience, the paper contributes to emerging socio-political foundations of a just transition and highlights the institutional reforms necessary to align decarbonisation objectives with social equity.
