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Yale Climate Connections
Electric Cars. Solar panels. Batteries. Wind turbines.
The technology transforming our global economy from the dirty fossil fuel era to a renewable-energy-powered future requires huge amounts of minerals such as copper, lithium, nickel, cobalt, and so-called rare earths. By 2030, the world is likely to need twice as much of these critical minerals as are currently produced, according to the International Energy Agency.
Meeting this demand and ensuring that these minerals – often called critical minerals – can move from where they are mined and refined, to where they are needed to produce climate technology, is a key climate challenge. But it’s not just about saving the planet. Control of the supply and distribution of those minerals will also play a major role in determining the winners and losers of the economy of the future. Most of the world is betting heavily that the future will be powered by renewable energy.
