🌱 What are transition minerals?
To reach the goal of having net zero emissions by the middle of the century, a rapid transition over to renewable energies is needed. Yet, the production of solar panels, wind turbines, electric vehicles, and batteries requires large quantities of minerals – such as copper, lithium, and nickel. The minerals needed to produce renewable technologies are both of strategic and economic importance. In line with this, they are sometimes referred to as “transition minerals”.
🌱 What issues arise with increased transition mining?
The strong dependency on transition minerals to achieve net zero targets poses a number of issues. It is likely to add to geopolitical tensions and to place an additional strain on extraction areas. It may lead to compromises on human rights and environmental standards, and thereby increase the issues found in mineral supply chains. It could also slow down the transition to renewables and increase the cost for the transition – and even mean that net zero targets can no longer be met on time.
Read more about transition minerals here:
- https://www.iea.org/reports/the-role-of-critical-minerals-in-clean-energy-transitions
- https://irena.org/-/media/Files/IRENA/Agency/Technical-Papers/IRENA_Critical_Materials_2021.pdf