Chapter 7
The law of holes: Mining and climate change
If humanity is to prevent the worst impacts of climate change, it is essential that we decarbonize our economies. This will depend upon the widespread rollout of technologies which are enormously metal- and mineral-intensive. But mining is not without its social and environmental impacts, nor is it free of responsibility for the climate emergency. This chapter assesses to what extent mining may be part of the solution, looking at two metals which will be essential for the energy transition: copper, focusing on the Cordillera del Cóndor, Ecuador; and lithium, focusing on the Salar de Atacama in Chile.
‘The assumption seems to be that mining can be made sustainable, or at least, that it can be reconciled with the demands of sustainable development. But what does this really mean? Is ‘‘sustainable mining’’ not an oxymoron?’
‘If we were to replace all the UK’s 31.5 million cars and vans with electric vehicles, it would consume the equivalent of 12 per cent of the world’s entire copper output – not to mention three-quarters of global lithium production – for 2018.’
‘‘‘Our society needs minerals,’’ says the Brazilian environmental engineer Bruno Milanez, ‘‘but if we’re to move mineral extraction towards something that can be called ‘sustainable development,’ then we need to rethink the scale, the methods, and the pace of extraction, as well as the use and the waste of these materials’’.’
Related articles
Lithium: white gold or curse?
Bolivia’s lithium coup
Lithium: draining the desert
Bolivia: building a state-run lithium industry
Where We Mine: Resource Politics in Latin America
For life and territory
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