Media, page-1697

An interesting take from the Guardian today: apologies about the formatting HC wants it like this !

There are also concerns about the production of these raw materials, which is highly concentrated in a handful of countries. The IEA warns that the world’s top three producers account for more than three-quarters of global supplies. The Democratic Republic of the Congo produced 70% of cobalt and rare earth elements in 2019, according to IEA data, and China was responsible for refining nearly 90% of rare earths used globally..

Fatih Birol, executive director of the IEA, said: “Left unaddressed, these potential vulnerabilities could make global progress towards a clean energy future slower and more costly, and therefore hamper international efforts to tackle climate change.”.

Others are less pessimistic. Kingsmill Bond, an analyst at the thinktank Carbon Tracker, said: “There is no denying that there will be production bottlenecks as demand for critical minerals rises, but this is nothing new for the mining sector. The fossil system requires over 300 times more material than the renewable system. The disparity is enormous, and no amount of fancy footwork by apologists for the fossil fuel system should deflect us from the central point that we have the resources to make the energy transition a reality and to usher in a new age of growth and prosperity.”

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2021/may/15/record-metals-boom-may-threaten-transition-to-green-energy