Doesn’t mining for critical minerals for clean energy technologies have a negative environmental and social impact?

It can – and that’s a concern worth taking seriously. We’re definitely supportive of the many efforts to reduce negative impacts of resources extraction associated with clean energy technologies, and it’s notable that recycling of critical minerals from used batteries is on the upswing across the United States. That said, even in the current status quo, it’s important to compare apples to apples by looking at clean energy mining impacts relative to the same type of impacts from fossil fuels. Several recent analyses making this comparison – summarized here – have concluded that transitioning to a clean energy economy will result in a significant decrease in negative environmental (and potentially social) effects, due largely to the commensurate decline in coal mining. And that’s without considering the environmental benefits from reducing oil and gas extraction and combustion, which may be significant.

In other words, humans have impacts no matter how we live - so it’s important to consider the differential impacts of different ways of living. With that framework, there’s evidence to show that the transition to a clean energy economy may well provide net benefits overall.