Critical minerals supply threatened by climate risk – even under low-emissions scenario
“Even if global carbon emissions rapidly decrease, climate disruption poses a serious and growing threat to the world’s ability to produce essential commodities.”
The production of a majority of critical minerals could face disruption due to climate change by 2050, even if emissions were to drop sharply by the end of the decade, a PwC study has found.
More than half of the production capacity for some of the minerals most used in manufacturing (iron and bauxite) as well as those necessary for the net zero transition (lithium, cobalt and copper) will be at significant, high or extreme risk due to heat stress or drought by the middle of this century – even under a low-emissions scenario.
