Behördliche Genehmigungsverfahren für Projekte ab einer gewissen Größenordnung unterliegen in Deutschland seit einiger Zeit regelmäßig starker öffentlicher Kritik, z.T. durch die etablierten Umweltverbände, z.T. aber auch durch eigens gegründete Bürgerinitiativen. Dabei werden auch über die in den verschiedenen Verfahren vorgeschriebene Beteiligung hinaus auch die Möglichkeiten des Rechtsstaats immer häufiger genutzt, so dass behördliche Genehmigungen immer öfter durch die Verwaltungsgerichtsbarkeit bis hin zum Bundesverwaltungsgericht überprüft werden. Überspitzt könnte man formulieren, dass die Verwaltungsgerichte inzwischen zur obersten Genehmigungsinstanz in Deutschland geworden sind.

Dies hat insbesondere für die Genehmigungsbehörden zur Folge, dass bei "umstrittenen" Verfahren die verwaltungsrichterliche Überprüfung sinnvoller Weise schon im Verfahren mitgedacht und und bei der Formulierung der einzelnen Genehmigungen, aber auch der jeweiligen Begründungen und Abwägungen berücksichtigt werden sollte.

Dabei müssen z.B. bei Vorhaben, die Auswirkungen auf Menge oder Qualität von Grundwasser haben können, z.T. sehr komplexe Abhängigkeiten und Wechselwirkungen in einer für fachliche Laien wie z.B. Verwaltungsrichter verständlichen Sprache beschrieben werden. Gleichzeitig muss natürlich diese Beschreibung dem Juristen aber auch die Grundlage für seine Entscheidungsfindung liefern, also im Hinblick auf jeweilige juristische Problematik nachvollziehbar formuliert sein. Dies ist nur im engen Austausch mit juristischem Fachpersonal und weitestgehendem Verzicht auf geologisches Fachvokabular möglich.

Denn nur bei einer korrekten, für ihn verständlichen Beschreibung des Sachverhaltes kann der Richter Tatbestandsmerkmale prüfen und entsprechende Rechtsfolgen korrekt ableiten. Damit hat die geologisch-hydrogeologische Expertise - zielgerichtet und für Laien verständlich formuliert - eine entscheidende Bedeutung für den Verfahrensausgang.

Anpassung der Kommunikation an das Zielpublikum und Verzicht auf "Geologenkauderwelsch" erhöhen die Durchschlagskraft der fachlichen Argumentation!

The European Critical Raw Materials Act, which entered into force on 23 May 2024, brought a need for reporting of the critical raw materials projects by the Member States to the European Commission, using the UNFC.
In response to this need, the EU International Centre of Excellence on Sustainable Resource Management (EU ICE SRM – in establishment) has developed a UNFC Train-the-Trainer programme as part of the GSEU - Geological Service for Europe project activities. The goal was to train the experts from the European geological survey organisations (GSO) to apply the UNFC and further disseminate the knowledge they have acquired at the national level.

The training programme used a three-level approach:

Level 1 - General principles: the training designed for broad audience with diverse levels of knowledge on UNFC addresses related concepts, international reporting standards and their links to UNFC using practical examples;

Level 2 - User need specifics: designed for practitioners it builds up on Level 1 covering various cases. The course enables participants to apply UNFC classification independently;

Level 3 - Qualification: building up on Level 2 training and participants deepen their knowledge and are finely able to pass it on.
Each training programme level was structured within 2-day educational workshops and successfully held for the first time in April, May and June 2024 at the Geological Survey of Slovenia in Ljubljana. Over 30 experts from various European countries were trained by the skilled trainers from Finish, German, Austrian, Norwegian, Swedish, Czech, Hungarian, Slovenian and French GSO.

The United Nations Framework for the Classification of Resources (UNFC) is a generic tool that can be used for all types of resources, including anthropogenic resources. Compared to the primary raw material sector, the classification of resources is not common in the recycling sector. Therefore, we are working on a conceptual approach with seven stages to define, evaluate and classify a project and to summarize the results in a report. At the same time, we are working on a concept of how the UNFC can be used at national level.

The principle how the results can be combined will be shown by the case studies on the recovery of phosphorous from sewage sludge. Statistical data was used for a mass flow analysis (MFA), looking at the amount of sewage sludge produced, processed and treated for phosphorous recovery. The result of the MFA is visualized in a Sankey diagram. This approach helps to identify the viable projects in terms of circular economy and those that meet the criteria for phosphorous recovery. Based on that, it can be shown how much of the phosphorous is currently being recovered. In addition, specific projects along the recycling value chain were selected to apply the conceptual approach. This provides information on the level of confidence of the produced materials, the technical feasibility as well as the economic viability and environmental and social impact of the project. Overall, the results can be used to compare the projects and highlight the potentials and obstacles of the project.

Resources such as minerals and metals are essential raw materials for our daily lives. Yet, it is a long road (> 10 years) before they become available for the first time through mining. From basic scientific research to on-site prospecting and exploration to the technical, economic and legal challenges associated with the development, operation, maintenance and aftercare of a mine and/or processing plant, many experts from a wide range of disciplines are involved. The civil society is also involved in all these steps - whether because they are directly affected, have an interest in the project or the location of the action, or because they are involved in non-technical, administrative tasks. Thus, how can these different stakeholders and the great variability of detailed knowledge about project specifics and its location communicated in a form that is equally understandable to all?

This presentation will outline the various steps of the process using the UNFC (United Nations Framework Classification for Resources). It will discuss a) how and where the different steps a resource project goes through can be visualised in an understandable way, b) whether and how this information used for communication outside one's own bubble and c) what information used for this purpose. To this end, publicly available information is analysed across the phases of a project and from different temporal perspectives. The results presented in the form of UNFC figures building the basis for further discussion.

The goal of the energy transition is to enable future generations a fair and just opportunity to live without bearing the costs of the doings of previous generations. This transition, marked by international commitments to tripling renewable energy capacities and advancing critical mineral intensive technologies, underscores the crucial role of managing critical minerals in discussions on and beyond climate justice. Achieving inter- and intragenerational justice necessitates extending the dialogue to include responsible resource management practices both now and in the future. Scholars of intergenerational justice argue that the current SDG-oriented approach to resource management falls short. But even within this comparatively weaker framework, implemented resource management practices often fail to meet sustainability criteria due to economic pressure.

This keynote will dive into some the underlying reasons for the shortcomings of existing frameworks and explore potentially promising approaches to addressing intergenerational justice in resource management while ensuring economic stability and the well-being of current generations. By showcasing some of the work of the Resource Management Young Member Group (RMYMG) within the UNECE Expert Group on Resource Management, diverse perspectives and approaches from youth will shed light on their efforts to transform our current resource management practices to better meet intergenerational justice. RMYMG has published a Guidebook on Intergenerational Action in Critical Minerals Management, a White Paper on demand-side considerations in CRM management and has advocated for the inclusion of resource management in global policy forums. This keynote serves as an introduction to the fresh insights and approaches of the youth.