Minerals for Climate Action: The Mineral Intensity of the Clean Energy Transition

In 2017, the World Bank published The Growing Role of Minerals and Metals for a Low Carbon Future, concluding that a low-carbon future will not be possible without minerals. This report makes that case even stronger, but with a new emphasis on how technology improvements and recycling could impact mineral demand up to 2050. For the first time, the global warming potential of different low-carbon technologies were analyzed in comparison with fossil-fuel-based energy systems. The authors also present a new framework to capture the risks associated with the demand for specific critical minerals. This report intends to provide policy makers, mineral producers, renewable energy developers, climate negotiators, and…