Insights on Public Acceptance of Major European Lithium Mine Projects

Abstract Lithium is a very important element for the green energy transition. However, most of it is imported to Europe mainly from Chile, China, and the USA. The European Union (EU) has promising hard-rock lithium projects, while the public acceptance (PA) is a prerequisite for their viability. In this paper, the PA of four European lithium projects is assessed using data from several sources. The data is analyzed by applying protest event analysis, i.e., assessment of media reports, social media, and data from the Environmental Justice Atlas; an extensive literature review was also carried out to search for all available scientific data. The examined projects are the Beauvoir (France), the Mina do Barroso (Portugal), the Keliber (Finland), and the Greenbarrow (UK). The present analysis aims to contributes to the green energy transition debate by presenting and clarifying several aspects pertinent to PA for these lithium projects. All projects practice stakeholder engagement and online communication on community-related issues, mainly in local languages. For the Keliber project, there seems to be no major opposition, while the picture given in the public and social media looks positive. On the other hand, there are some environmental concerns and criticism for the Greenbarrow project. The Beauvoir and Mina do Barroso projects are different cases. Land use and potential water contamination are major issues of concern. Both regions have long mining history with quite negative reputation, while Beauvoir is located close to a protected area. Mina do Barroso is the only project for which academic papers highlighting disputes have been published in scientific journals. Both Mina do Barroso and Beauvoir projects are situated in agricultural areas and are included as dispute cases within the Environmental Justice Atlas. PA of lithium projects is crucial for the energy transition at EU level. Their monitoring should be carried out in line with active stakeholder engagement, whereas any misconduct can spark additional organized opposition which can be challenging and difficult to be restrained.