Assessing the social and environmental impacts of critical mineral supply chains for the energy transition in Europe

IF 8.6 1区 环境科学与生态学 Q1 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
Etienne Berthet , Julien Lavalley , Candy Anquetil-Deck , Fernanda Ballesteros , Konstantin Stadler , Ugur Soytas , Michael Hauschild , Alexis Laurent
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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Advanced technologies are inherently dependent on critical minerals and their related metals. The mining extraction of these critical minerals leads to significant social and environmental impacts that extend beyond the regions where those advanced technologies are ultimately used. This study explores the global socio-environmental challenges arising from the European Climate Law's aim for net-zero greenhouse emissions by 2050, focusing on the EU's consumption of critical minerals. Developing a novel methodology based on Multi-Regional Input-Output (MRIO) model, enriched with detailed mineral production data from specific ore-to-mineral ratios and socio-environmental information, this work assesses the impacts of the EU's mineral consumption within its energy transition framework. This innovative approach extends beyond ore extraction to encompass all stages of the supply chain. Key findings indicate that the continental Europe accounts for 60% of the EU's ore extraction footprint, yet only 35% of the mineral footprint for the 34 analyzed critical minerals. In contrast, Africa's and South America's shares are 12% and 29%, respectively, markedly higher than attributed in previous studies. The study highlights challenges in securing these minerals, including potential usage conflicts and increased mining in water-scarce basins within Australia, Kazakhstan, South Africa, and Chile, hence exacerbating environmental and community issues. Furthermore, the research suggests that achieving the EU's climate goals could expose between 15 and 89,000 African miners to increased modern slavery vulnerabilities by 2040. However, adherence to the EU Green Deal principles could mitigate these risks and recommendations are proposed, including diversifying mineral supply chains, establishing partnerships with countries that maintain high socio-environmental standards, and adopting circular economy paradigms and innovative solutions. This study advocates its new methodological development to build comprehensive strategies balancing climate goals with the global socio-environmental effects of critical mineral extraction, especially in developing countries.

评估欧洲能源转型关键矿物供应链对社会和环境的影响
先进技术本质上依赖于关键矿物及其相关金属。开采这些关键矿物会对社会和环境造成重大影响,影响范围超出了这些先进技术的最终使用地区。本研究探讨了《欧洲气候法》到 2050 年实现温室气体净零排放的目标所带来的全球社会环境挑战,重点关注欧盟对关键矿物的消费。这项研究开发了一种基于多区域投入产出(MRIO)模型的新方法,并通过特定矿石与矿石比率和社会环境信息丰富了详细的矿产生产数据,从而在欧盟能源转型框架内评估了欧盟矿产消费的影响。这一创新方法不仅涵盖了矿石开采,还涵盖了供应链的所有阶段。主要研究结果表明,欧洲大陆占欧盟矿石开采足迹的 60%,但在所分析的 34 种关键矿物中,仅占矿物足迹的 35%。相比之下,非洲和南美洲所占的比例分别为 12% 和 29%,明显高于以往的研究结果。该研究强调了确保这些矿产安全所面临的挑战,包括潜在的使用冲突,以及在澳大利亚、哈萨克斯坦、南非和智利等缺水盆地采矿的增加,从而加剧了环境和社区问题。此外,研究表明,到 2040 年,实现欧盟的气候目标可能会使 15 至 89,000 名非洲矿工面临更多的现代奴隶制问题。不过,遵守欧盟绿色交易原则可以降低这些风险,并提出了一些建议,包括矿产供应链多样化、与保持较高社会环境标准的国家建立合作关系,以及采用循环经济模式和创新解决方案。本研究倡导其新的方法论发展,以建立平衡气候目标与关键矿物开采的全球社会环境影响的综合战略,特别是在发展中国家。
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来源期刊
Global Environmental Change
Global Environmental Change 环境科学-环境科学
CiteScore
18.20
自引率
2.20%
发文量
146
审稿时长
12 months
期刊介绍: Global Environmental Change is a prestigious international journal that publishes articles of high quality, both theoretically and empirically rigorous. The journal aims to contribute to the understanding of global environmental change from the perspectives of human and policy dimensions. Specifically, it considers global environmental change as the result of processes occurring at the local level, but with wide-ranging impacts on various spatial, temporal, and socio-political scales. In terms of content, the journal seeks articles with a strong social science component. This includes research that examines the societal drivers and consequences of environmental change, as well as social and policy processes that aim to address these challenges. While the journal covers a broad range of topics, including biodiversity and ecosystem services, climate, coasts, food systems, land use and land cover, oceans, urban areas, and water resources, it also welcomes contributions that investigate the drivers, consequences, and management of other areas affected by environmental change. Overall, Global Environmental Change encourages research that deepens our understanding of the complex interactions between human activities and the environment, with the goal of informing policy and decision-making.
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