Critical Raw Materials and Green Energy Transition in Serbia (Chatham House Discussion)

Jadarite was discovered in Serbia in 2004 by the engineers of Rio Tinto, a British[1]Australian corporation that was issued exploration permits for the Jadar valley that same year. Local activists began to self-organise a decade later, when the phase of ore exploitation approached and land acquisition became a mass phenomenon. A complex political debate surrounding the Jadar Project developed in Serbia. This closed session will discuss the following questions: What is the wider context and importance of the project, both in Serbia and globally? Through which stages the discourse on the Jadar Project went so far? Who are the main actors and what are the narratives that have guided the political debate? What are the consequences of this debate in Serbia, and the possible future of the discourse on this project and environmental topics in general?