The first quote is about mineral resources but the link is about climate and greenhouse gas emissions. I'm sure it was just an oversight, but there is nothing on that EPA page that remotely addresses the mineral resource issue.
"Greening" the world with electric vehicles will first require a significant and rapid increase in our industrial mineral supply. The IEA predicts a 5x increase in required critical metals over the next 17 years to meet clean energy demands and claims "Today, the data shows a looming mismatch between the world’s strengthened climate ambitions and the availability of critical minerals that are essential to realising those ambitions." [1]. Geologists within the industry are publicly claiming that "Global reserves are not large enough to supply enough metals to build the renewable non-fossil fuels industrial system." [2].
But lets just assume we have enough minerals for the sake of argument. How are we actually going to get it out of the ground and into the supply chain fast enough? More mining. More transport. More industry. More pollution. And more fossil fuel consumption in the short term (though as the EPA notes, the long-term emissions balance favors EVs).
If the green energy revolution is going to come true, we're going to require an expansion of mining capacity that the world has literally never seen. I'm not sure everyone advocating green energy understands exactly what's required to make that happen. But the mining industry is certainly aware of the demand! If we give them the green light and an economic incentive, they'll strip mine every mountain in the global south just so everyone in the global north can drive an EV.
Comments
The first quote is about mineral resources but the link is about climate and greenhouse gas emissions. I'm sure it was just an oversight, but there is nothing on that EPA page that remotely addresses the mineral resource issue.
"Greening" the world with electric vehicles will first require a significant and rapid increase in our industrial mineral supply. The IEA predicts a 5x increase in required critical metals over the next 17 years to meet clean energy demands and claims "Today, the data shows a looming mismatch between the world’s strengthened climate ambitions and the availability of critical minerals that are essential to realising those ambitions." [1]. Geologists within the industry are publicly claiming that "Global reserves are not large enough to supply enough metals to build the renewable non-fossil fuels industrial system." [2].
But lets just assume we have enough minerals for the sake of argument. How are we actually going to get it out of the ground and into the supply chain fast enough? More mining. More transport. More industry. More pollution. And more fossil fuel consumption in the short term (though as the EPA notes, the long-term emissions balance favors EVs).
If the green energy revolution is going to come true, we're going to require an expansion of mining capacity that the world has literally never seen. I'm not sure everyone advocating green energy understands exactly what's required to make that happen. But the mining industry is certainly aware of the demand! If we give them the green light and an economic incentive, they'll strip mine every mountain in the global south just so everyone in the global north can drive an EV.
[1] https://www.iea.org/reports/the-role-of-critical-minerals-in...
[2] https://tupa.gtk.fi/raportti/arkisto/16_2021.pdf