Sustainability Analysis reports

Sustainability Analysis 2:
Critical minerals governance in the global energy transition

13 June 2025

Why is my government not more transparent on its dilemmas? It appears to me as a lack of political will, but it could also be a lack of self-confidence.’ – anonymous respondent

This analysis examines the underlying governance challenges in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) related to the exploitation and international trade of transition minerals, which are becoming increasingly important due to the global energy transition. The study focuses on the dilemmas between economic opportunities and potential negative side effects, drawing on interviews with a wide range of stakeholders from six countries (Chile, Zambia, Guinea, Indonesia, Ghana, and Senegal). Each case study zooms in on specific minerals and relevant policy strategies. Using five guiding questions, the study provides insights through five corresponding chapters into development dilemmas, action dilemmas, government responses, internal governance practices, and possible improvements. The five guiding questions are:

1. What development dilemmas do you see for your country?
2. What action dilemmas do you see for your government?
3. How do you view your government’s responses to these dilemmas?
4. How do you evaluate your government’s internal practices and governance systems?
5. How do you believe your government may improve its internal practices?

From the interviews, this general picture emerged:
The government should intervene in the rising mineral resource governance dilemmas. It should discuss its options and dilemmas with other actors in the governance system: CSOs and private sector. This never works perfectly. Learning-by-doing and experimentation with innovative arrangements for collaboration is required, primarily in the government. Usual education is insufficient. Other countries should not interfere in their governance but may support learning-by-doing in a policy-neutral way.

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Mineral Resource Governance in the Global Energy Transition This link opens in a new tab

The underlying case reports will be published shortly.

Sustainability Analysis 1:
Improving governmental capacity to address sustainability dilemmas in global value chains

7 June 2024

How can policymakers develop more consistent and coherent policies to achieve the SDGs domestically, while taking responsibility for cross-border effects and helping to accelerate sustainable development in low- and middle-income countries? With this first Sustainability Analysis, the NCEA intends to offer a new governance perspective on policymakers’ dilemmas.

Power, knowledge, leadership
The analysis considers governance as the interacting influence of all actors on transitions. It examines power, knowledge, and leadership in the relationships between parliament, policy areas, government agencies, representatives of the private sector, civil society organisations, and citizens. Are these actors jointly capable of making the available knowledge on sustainable development dilemmas meaningful for action?

Application: the Netherlands 
In the last chapter, the analysis is applied to the Netherlands. It shows how the Netherlands tries to contribute to global transitions to sustainable development, taking the interest of other countries – in particular vulnerable countries – into consideration. It describes a set of context-specific arrangements to improve governmental capacity for addressing sustainability dilemmas.

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Further elaboration of the Netherlands case

17 June 2024

Sustainability Analysis (SusAn) 1, published on 7 June 2024, outlines a method to assess the capability of a country to contribute to global transitions to sustainable development. It has a chapter applying this method to the Netherlands. First reactions to this SusAn report made the NCEA decide to write a Dutch version of the SusAn, with more details on how to fit recommendations in the Dutch context. You can find this additional case report below in Dutch and English.

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Duurzaamheidsanalyse ‘Besluitvaardig bestuur in wereldwijde waardeketens’; Case Nederland This link opens in a new tab

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Sustainability analysis ‘Improving governmental capacity to address sustainability dilemmas in global value chains’; Case the Netherlands