Governments should introduce take-back policies for REEs

Governments worldwide should introduce compulsory take-back policies for products rich in REEs, and build networks of licensed recycling firms to process products containing REEs. Mandatory recycling rates or recycled-content requirements for REEs need to be set, and enforced. For example, the European Commission has passed a law requiring that 15% of REE consumption in the European Union be covered by secondary sources by 2030 (see ). Global agreements will be needed for collecting REE end-of-life products from countries lacking recycling facilities. Governments should also agree to a global standard for product labelling to help manufacturers and others understand the types and amounts of REEs in products. And they should revise existing legislation concerning electrical equipment to include products with dense and rich amounts of REEs, including magnets and electric-vehicle batteries. Researchers need to assess the feasibility and implications of such policies. For example, how hard will it be for companies to meet a national 15% recycling target without repercussions, such as having to rely on poor-quality secondary sources or export restrictions? What would it take for them to achieve 30%? One stumbling block is that few researchers or industry players know the quantities of REEs in products, or consumption patterns of low-carbon devices, often because of confidentiality issues. This makes it difficult to judge how many tonnes of REEs might become available when products come to the end of their lives, or the time frame for being able to collect them. A data platform to share estimates about the future supply of REEs from secondary sources would help to resolve this gap. Coordination and reduced tariffs for goods and services related to REEs are needed to overcome global trade barriers and REE export restrictions, which have increased fivefold since 2009. Better alignment of international trade, industrial policy and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) should include international circularity for REEs. Agreement on such issues at the next G20 meeting, in New Delhi in September, for example, would help to establish international markets and build economies of scale for recycled REEs and reused products. It would also help low- and middle-income countries to access REEs to speed up their energy transitions, and it would help governments to support green-recovery plans after the COVID-19 pandemic through fair trade, while delivering on the SDGs.