The cost of electrifying the UK's cars
Mineral Supply Risk
Which mineral supply chains will be most under threat in the near future?
Climate Change
Minerals play key roles in all of our lives. The beauty of these valuable resources should not be overlooked.
Demand Drivers
Why won't current mining practices be enough to meet our green energy needs?
A series organised by the Research Institute for the History of Science and Technology (RIHST) at Caltech and The Huntington
An article from Vox on the “degrowth” movement.
A fascinating series on artisanal small scale mining, featuring guests from a broad range of relevant fields
Circular Economy
Urban mining through a circular economy has emerged as a promising option for securing copper and aluminum resources.
A recent article in the South China Morning Post highlights how environmental groups have started targeting some Chinese-backed projects in Africa in a [...]
In an extensive and troubling read, The New Yorker has explored in detail the ‘dark side’ of the Congo’s cobalt rush, which has [...]
The key issues, benchmarks, and standards in four main areas of environmental management in mining
The green energy revolution is heavily reliant on raw materials, such as cobalt and lithium, which are currently mainly sourced by mining. We [...]
World Energy Outlook special report
Exploring the mining industry's new normal
By Piers Forster, Professor of Physical Climate Change; Director of the Priestley International Centre for Climate, University of Leeds
By Jordy Lee, Payne Institute Program Manager, Colorado School of Mines and Morgan Bazilian, Professor of Public Policy and Director, Payne Institute, Colorado [...]
By Dorothee Baumann-Pauly, Adjunct Professor and Director of the Geneva Center for Business and Human Rights, Université de Genève and Serra Cremer Iyi, [...]
By Miguel Valdez, Lecturer in Technology and Innovation Management, The Open University; Matthew Cook, Professor of Innovation, The Open University, and Stephen Potter, [...]
By Bill Ritter Jr., Director, Center for the New Energy Economy, Colorado State University
By Dr Apoli Bertrand Kameni
A talk on Wednesday 24 February 2021 with Dr Dyllon Randall on manufacturing bio-bricks and bio-tiles from copper mine tailings.
Twin peaks - oil’s price rises alongside battery metals intended to replace it
Sir Partha Dasgupta, Emeritus Professor of Economics at the University of Cambridge, has published a landmark new report, first commissioned by the UK [...]
In episode 7 of Rob Hopkins' podcast, "From What If To What Next", Kate Raworth – an economist and author of Doughnut Economics [...]
The State of Batteries Report 2020 summarises the most significant developments in the battery industry over the last year.
There are many benefits to using renewable energy resources, but what is it exactly? From solar to wind, find out more about alternative [...]
An analysis of the geopolitical implications of the global energy transition on one of the world’s leading energy-producing countries.
For over a decade, the UNEP Emissions Gap Report has provided a yearly review of the difference between where greenhouse emissions are predicted [...]
The Sustainable Minerals Institute is the world's leading research institute dedicated to finding knowledge-based solutions to the sustainability challenges of the minerals industry. [...]
Dr Anthony Hodge unpacks some of the key challenges facing the mining industry. Here he talks about sustainability, the metals supply conundrum, and [...]
For the past 3 years, Lynda Lawson, a research associate in this gemstone knowledge hub, has been documenting and analyzing the lives of [...]
To conclude the year, the Mineralogical Association of South Africa is hosting a virtual presentation at 13.00 on 3 December 2020, titled “Meeting [...]
Rather than merely serving economic means, an enhanced and broader understanding of commodities will be essential to combat climate change.
How will clean energy remake geopolitics? Listen to this podcast to hear how The Economist sees this critical area evolving.
Renewable energy production is necessary to halt climate change and reverse associated biodiversity losses. However, generating the required technologies and infrastructure will drive [...]
On episode 4 of the Energy vs Climate podcast, energy experts David Keith, Sara Hastings-Simon and Ed Whittingham discuss their recent editorial in [...]
Try the Global Footprint Network's Footprint Calculator to find out your Ecological Footprint and personal Earth Overshoot Day.
What was the greatest invention of the industrial revolution? Hans Rosling makes the case for the washing machine. With newly designed graphics from [...]
In this presentation Professor Saleem Ali considers the latest data on supply security based on recent research conducted on resource efficiency, recycling, remanufacturing [...]
A short film on the unique world of artisanal divers searching for diamonds in Sierra Leone. Out of 1.5 million artisanal diamond diggers [...]
For 15 years, the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) has been the flagship governance initiative for the extractive sector. After a decade leading the [...]
The International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) identifies 23 minerals that will be critical to the development and deployment of solar panels, wind [...]
In this paper, the authors explore the possible evolution of four scenarios of copper demand in Europe to 2050.
Clean energy technologies generally require more minerals than their fossil fuel-based counterparts.
New synthesis shows what a wasted decade means for the climate pact made in Paris.
This report explores how the planet can meet the demand for the minerals which will be needed to deliver on the clean energy [...]
The area used for mineral extraction is a key indicator for understanding and mitigating the environmental impacts caused by the extractive sector. To [...]
Created to accompany the United Nations Environment Assembly resolution on Mineral Resource Governance, Professor Daniel Franks from The University of Queensland's Sustainable Minerals [...]
Pact and the University of Delaware’s Mapping Artisanal and Small-scale Mining to the Sustainable Development Goals (ASM-SDG Policy Assessment) is the first report [...]
This paper explores how copper demand might develop until the year 2100 under different socio-economic and technology scenarios.
Can we achieve economic growth and global prosperity whilst simultaneously reducing – or even reversing – the environmental degradation caused by extracting the [...]
Al Gore talks to Chris Anderson - The coronavirus brought much of the world to a standstill, dropping carbon emissions by five percent. [...]
The wide adoption of lithium-ion batteries used in electric vehicles will require increased natural resources for the automotive industry.
Yttrium, terbium, erbium and ytterbium were all named after one small town on the Stockholm archipelago. But it could have been different, and [...]
This paper analyses the underlying tension between the need for rapid decarbonisation, including that required for scaling up ocean-based renewable energy, and the [...]
An analysis of how the shift to a cleaner energy system could impact mineral demand
The Population Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations has been revising and updating urban and rural [...]
What is in your smartphone and can it be recycled? Kim Preshoff investigates the sustainability of phone production.
The European Commission sets out its vision for a climate-neutral EU.
The Electric Vehicle Outlook is BloombergNEF’s annual long-term forecast of how electrification, shared mobility and autonomous driving will impact road transport from now [...]
Today, more than half of all people in the world live in an urban area. By mid-century, this will increase to 70%. But as recently as [...]
We can't create new land and new energy systems at the click of a mouse. And as we sit, exchanging free ideas with [...]
This study aims at estimating the future demand for raw materials in wind turbines and solar PV following several decarbonisation scenarios.
Professional short educational documentary about what materials are needed to power the internet infrastructure which allowed humanity to adapt to the great pandemic [...]
The authors put forward their vision for how batteries can contribute to sustainable development and climate change mitigation over the coming decade.
The modern world is reliant on metals, so a secure and stable supply is vital.
Lithium-ion battery demand, particularly for electric vehicles, is projected to increase by over 300% throughout the next decade. With these expected increases in [...]
In Global Material Resources Outlook to 2060, the OECD examine what the economic drivers of resource demand globally will be during this period, [...]
The UN International Resource Panel (IRP) sets out how we can ensure that international governance of our natural resources becomes intertwined with vital [...]
Comparing Environmental, Social, and Economic Impacts of Supplying Base Metals from Land Ores and Seafloor Polymetallic Nodules.
Metals are a key enabler of economic development and human progress, and a requirement for the expansion of clean energy.
The GLEC Framework is the global method for the calculation and reporting of logistics emissions.
This analysis provides an overview of key events in the Adani mine’s groundwater approvals.
This OECD paper outlines several measures required to help improve resource efficiency and stimulate a transition towards a more circular economy.
This study analyses the vulnerability of primary cobalt production to supply chain disruptions and evaluates supply risks associated with the increased attention for [...]
Critical metals are technologically vital to the functionality of various emerging technologies, yet they have a potentially unstable supply. This condition calls for [...]
Until a few hundred years ago there was a perfect balance of carbon dioxide in the Earth's atmosphere. Human activity has disrupted that [...]
Climate activists talk a lot about following “the science” around climate change. What actually is the science and how is it calculated?
The technology opening up the deep ocean is also opening up opportunity, not just to witness the diversity of life but to glimpse [...]
Climate Change
U.K. target to cut emissions by 78% by 2035 is world-leading – but to hit it, action is needed now
By Piers Forster, Professor of Physical Climate Change; Director of the Priestley International Centre for Climate, University of Leeds