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Nov 1, 2021 - Mar 31, 2022

Clean energy transition and natural resources, a paradox?: Case of lithium ion mining and battery production

Leader

Why are some countries better at leveraging science, technology, and innovation (STI) for their development while others are not?  Existing studies suggest different factors for that success: technological capability, learning towards technological upgrading, social embeddedness, and pre-existing innovation systems. All these manners of “catching up “, nowadays matter even more as we incorporate sustainability into our understanding of development. To investigate how countries can or are already incorporating STI successfully towards their sustainable development, we shall explore the cases of three lithium-producing nations. Their effective use of STI policies regarding this battery-essential mineral will determine whether lithium shall be another chapter in a “resource curse” or their key to move to a more sustainable pattern of economic transformation. The study would also pay attention to changing nature of context, including the geopolitical standing of each country, uptake of sustainable code of practice by the multinational firms, and raising awareness of civil society in respective countries.