Until you’re learning for a highschool science examination, lithium, nickel, copper, and cobalt most likely gained’t carry a lot which means past being parts on the periodic desk. But when there’s a time to tug out these dusty science books, it might be now.
Throughout varied sectors, these minerals are of accelerating significance, together with – maybe most prominently – renewable power era and storage, and electrical autos; but in addition different giant and rising sectors equivalent to navy and AI (e.g., for datacenters). And all over the world, many governments and firms are competing to regulate who can dig them up.
The worldwide minerals rush
These uncooked Earth supplies are sometimes known as “vital minerals” by governments and the mining business, usually a mirrored image of nationwide political priorities moderately than important societal or power transition wants. This dangers turning these minerals into the main focus of a brand new neo-colonial useful resource seize, with highly effective international locations and companies racing to regulate them, and losing their potential to energy a good and inexperienced transition.
Globally – from Chile, Argentina, DRC, Indonesia, Sweden to the deep sea – the extractivist rush for minerals places important ecosystems, peoples’ rights and the lives and livelihoods of Indigenous Peoples and native communities in danger. The geopolitical scramble over minerals has additionally been linked to the present US authorities’s aggressive annexation threats to Greenland.
Minerals have totally different makes use of, and there are not any ensures that the minerals mined “within the title of power transition” are used for wind generators or power storage. For instance, large tech corporations are consuming increasingly more of those minerals to develop AI infrastructure (equivalent to datacenters). Along with driving up power demand and emissions, the imaginative and prescient of ‘progress’ advocated by large tech oligarchs additionally threatens to worsen extractive pressures on individuals and nature, and divert minerals away from power transition. Furthermore, mineral use in the growth of AI-driven warfare techniques has been discovered as a very regarding growth.
In gentle of this, it’s extra essential than ever to demand coordinated motion to make sure that minerals are used the place they matter most: principally, for a quick honest fossil gas section out and a transition to wash, inexpensive renewable power and sustainable transport techniques.
So how can we defend individuals and nature within the power transition?
Scale back, recycle, limit for a safeguarded power transition
In a report commissioned by Greenpeace Worldwide, and authored by lecturers on the Institute for Sustainable Futures on the College of Know-how, Sydney (UTS) in Australia, we’ve discovered that an bold power transition will be achieved with out mining in important ecosystems – whether or not on land or at sea. With visionary management, sound insurance policies, and revolutionary applied sciences, we are able to preserve international warming inside 1.5°C, safeguard important ecosystems and cut back extractive pressures on individuals and nature.
Right here’s 5 methods how:
1. Scale back mineral demand with improved public transport, car-sharing, and smaller, extra environment friendly autos
Accessibility, effectivity, and reliability in how cities are ruled make them nice locations to reside in. Having improved public transport techniques is without doubt one of the only methods to scale back the necessity for mineral-intensive electrical autos and the batteries that energy them. Along with increasing high-quality public transport, using car-sharing schemes, and investing in lively mobility (e.g. strolling and biking infrastructure) would considerably lower reliance on particular person automobile possession.
As an added bonus enhancing our public transport techniques is crucial not only for local weather, however for connecting individuals to alternatives. Mobility justice is local weather justice.
2. Incentivise and substitute battery know-how in direction of alternate options requiring much less lithium, cobalt, or nickel
Take into consideration what number of gadgets you employ that require batteries? With out it, our private devices can be ineffective; we wouldn’t have development in gadgets like electrical vehicles or bikes; and batteries may assist retailer and use extra eco-friendly sources of power, equivalent to photo voltaic and wind. However the manufacturing of huge batteries is extremely mineral-intensive.
Fortunately, over the past decade, technological innovation has remodeled the market. Lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries, now extensively commercialised, eradicate the necessity for cobalt and nickel, lowering strain on these provide chains. On the identical time, sodium-ion (Na-ion) batteries are advancing quickly, and supply a pathway to considerably cut back mineral demand for lithium, in response to the report. It reveals that, utilizing revolutionary battery applied sciences and power storage techniques that don’t require these key minerals would considerably cut back provide gaps for key minerals and ease potential growth pressures for brand spanking new mines focusing on them.
3. Design for circularity and scale up recycling
Everyone knows the drill by now – cut back, reuse, recycle. With regards to transition minerals, this maxim is of key significance.
By maximising assortment and the restoration of transition minerals from end-of-life transition applied sciences, recycling can considerably cut back the necessity for brand spanking new extraction. Investing in superior recycling applied sciences and assortment techniques, alongside coverage incentives that reward excessive recycled mineral content material in new merchandise, ensures that transition minerals re-enter the availability chain.
Further circularity measures like extending applied sciences’ lifespans, enhancing repairability, incentivising reuse, designing and standardising elements for straightforward disassembly to assist with restore and recycling, and implementing prolonged producer duty (EPR), might additionally contribute to lowering total mineral calls for.
4. Prioritise mineral use for important power transition wants
Minerals are finite assets, and the follow of mining carries vital social, labour, and environmental dangers. Subsequently, using mineral assets ought to be prioritised the place they matter most – in renewable power and its storage and in electrical mobility to allow a quick honest fossil gas section out.
Governments and industries should prioritise mineral use in direction of a quick, honest, and simply power transition. Coupled with provide chain transparency, prioritising minerals for power transition ensures finite minerals are used to advance local weather targets that profit all individuals and the planet.
5. Shield key ‘Restricted Areas’ from mining growth
Defending human rights and ecological integrity is a non-negotiable basis of a simply and inexperienced transition. Restricted Areas have excessive environmental, ecological, and pure values, and will embrace Indigenous Peoples and local people territories. Defining and defending these Restricted Areas is a vital step to making sure that mining of transition minerals respects the rights of Indigenous Peoples and native communities to their territories, and doesn’t destroy biodiversity, vital pure ecosystems, pure carbon storage, freshwater techniques and oceans.
In spite of everything, what’s “vital” right here will not be a minerals scramble largely pushed by geopolitical rivalry. Neither the AI race, nor the facility and revenue chased by States and companies.
Important are the ecosystems that each one residing beings on the planet rely upon.
Important are the rights of Indigenous Peoples and native communities.
Important is assembly peoples’ wants and guaranteeing that present and future generations can reside in a secure local weather.
For this, it’s important for our world leaders to take brave and coordinated motion to guard individuals and the planet, and guarantee our Earth’s minerals assist create a inexperienced and simply future, moderately than being exploited for short-term revenue.
Writer: Elsa Lee is the Co-Head of Biodiversity at Greenpeace Worldwide
