Looking beyond extraction for renewables

Renewable energy technology is essential to the world’s mission to keep global temperature rise under 1.5°C in accordance with the Paris Agreement. While it presents an enormously positive opportunity to decarbonise, renewable tech’s reliance on minerals such as cobalt, copper and rare earths raises other sustainability concerns.  

In collaboration with Greenpeace International, ISF researchers have been working to find ways to reduce mineral demand for renewables in the context of a fast-moving global energy transition.

The report Beyond Extraction: Pathways for a 1.5°C-aligned Energy Transition with Less Minerals builds on previous ISF research into future mineral demand, responsible sourcing, and available supplies in a renewable energy future.

The report finds that a clean energy transformation across energy, transport and technology systems can be achieved without sacrificing vital ecosystems to expanded terrestrial or deep‑sea mining, challenging the idea that large‑scale environmental destruction is an unavoidable cost of the energy transition.

For this report, ISF researchers updated their mineral demand predictions by considering technological advancements in renewable tech and possible demand-reduction strategies, such as recycling.

They went on to use the One Earth Climate Model tool to develop three possible future scenarios (to 2050):

1. The OECM Net Zero scenario – the base energy assessment with ambitious energy efficiency and 100% renewables
2. Progressive Scenario – that shows the mineral requirements with transport modal shifts, smaller cars and batteries, battery chemistry shifts, and a higher rate of mineral recycling
3. Progressive Accelerated Sodium-ion Battery Scenario – based on the Progressive Scenario with a drastic increase in Na-ion battery technology use.