Securing the Supply Chain: Critical Minerals Permitting Reform
Event Summary
Electric vehicles, wind turbines, and grid-scale batteries all depend on critical minerals such as lithium, cobalt, nickel, and rare earth elements. Yet in the United States, opening a new mine can take years—or even decades—because of a complex permitting process. As demand for these minerals grows, policymakers face a difficult question: how can the U.S. secure the materials needed for the clean energy transition without weakening environmental protections or overlooking the concerns of local communities?
This seminar examines how mineral permitting works, why approvals take so long, and what reforms could speed up responsible mining. We will also explore how economic analysis can help measure the costs of permitting delays and the trade-offs involved in faster approvals, giving policymakers better evidence to guide reform.
The EconClimate Lab advances forward looking economic policy ideas that make energy policy benefit workers, communities, and the American economy.
The conversation will be moderated by Heather Boushey, professor of practice at the Kleinman Center and former member of the Council of Economic Advisers and chief economist to President Biden’s Investing in America Cabinet.
Gracelin Baskaran
Director, Critical Minerals Security Program, CSISGracelin Baskaran is director of the Critical Minerals Security Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. She is a mining economist and has spent over a decade working on critical minerals globally.
Jamie Pleune
Associate Professor of Law (Research) and Wallace Stegner Center Fellow, University of Utah S.J. Quinney College of LawJamie Pleune is an Associate Professor of Law (Research) and a member of the Law & Policy Program in the Wallace Stegner Center for land resources, and the environment. Her research focuses on issues of climate change, conservation, permitting, and public lands management.
Heather Boushey
Professor of PracticeHeather Boushey is a professor of practice at the Kleinman Center. Boushey served in the Biden administration as a member of the Council of Economic Advisers and chief economist to the President’s Investing in America cabinet.
