minerals-energy-food-mef-complex

The paper proposes the minerals-energy-food (MEF) complex to address failures in existing natural resource governance frameworks, specifically the inability to differentiate between physical resources and traded commodities. It highlights how current resource flows create power asymmetries where extraction occurs in low-income countries while benefits concentrate in wealthy nations, citing the Democratic Republic of Congo's cobalt mining as an example. The authors argue that fragmented governance silos and complex supply chains transmit risks across borders, necessitating an integrated approach to avoid conflict and inequality while supporting climate action.

• Existing frameworks for natural resource governance are insufficient because they do not properly distinguish between traded commodities and physical resources, nor do they capture global drivers of resource use.
• The MEF complex identifies significant power imbalances in resource flows, where resource-rich low-income countries bear the burden of extraction while wealthy countries and emerging economies capture the benefits of processing and consumption. A specific example is cobalt mining, where 60% of extraction happens in the Democratic Republic of Congo, but value-chain benefits primarily flow to high-income and emerging economies.
• Current governance systems—including climate negotiations and trade regimes—operate in silos, failing to address the interconnected nature of global supply chains where climate impacts at extraction sites can create cascading risks across entire economic systems.

APA

Stockholm Environment Institute (2025). minerals-energy-food-mef-complex. https://www.sei.org/publications/minerals-energy-food-mef-complex/

Chicago

Stockholm Environment Institute. minerals-energy-food-mef-complex. 2025. https://www.sei.org/publications/minerals-energy-food-mef-complex/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Stockholm Environment Institute |title=minerals-energy-food-mef-complex |date=1 July 2025 |url=https://www.sei.org/publications/minerals-energy-food-mef-complex/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{stockholmenvironmentinstitute2025mineralsenergyfoodmefcomplex, author = {{Stockholm Environment Institute}}, title = {{minerals-energy-food-mef-complex}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2025}, month = jul, url = {https://www.sei.org/publications/minerals-energy-food-mef-complex/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }