The Costs of the Green Transition

"In particular, they seek "transition minerals," which are vital to the shift away from fossil fuels. These include lithium, cobalt, copper, and nickel (often called critical minerals, essential for rechargeable batteries), as well as rare-earth minerals such as yttrium, scandium, and lanthanides (integral components of green infrastructure). Freedom from dirty energy, it would appear, requires doubling down on the decidedly nonrenewable practice of mineral extraction."

"The mass deployment of technologies that these minerals make possible-fleets of electric cars; flocks of wind turbines; a cleaner energy grid-may be imperative if our society is to reduce its reliance on fossil fuels and thereby avoid the most devastating impacts of climate change. Yet the green transition comes at a significant cost. The mining of minerals such as lithium "often leaves parts of the Earth itself uninhabitable," the political scientist Thea Riofrancos writes in her astute new book, Extraction."

Transition minerals such as lithium, cobalt, copper, nickel, and rare-earth elements are essential for batteries and green infrastructure. Political actors across the spectrum support expanding mining to build domestic supply chains and accelerate electrification, with major public and private investments. Large-scale deployment of electric vehicles, wind turbines, and cleaner grids is framed as necessary to reduce fossil fuel reliance and avert severe climate impacts. Mining for these minerals frequently causes severe environmental harm and can leave land uninhabitable. Approximately 69 percent of transition minerals and 85 percent of lithium reserves are located in or near Indigenous or poor communities, rendering those populations disproportionately vulnerable to water-related harms.

Read at The Atlantic