Geology Reference
In-Depth Information
1.8 Summary of the chapter
Demand for energy and non-fuel minerals has risen exponentially since the beginning
of the 20th century and will continue to do so according to future consumption
trends. Of all the minerals, it is fossil fuels, construction materials, salts and the
metals iron, aluminium and copper which have been the most consumed throughout
history. Furthermore by 2050, demand for other important metals including gold,
silver, nickel, tin, zinc, lead or antimony will be greater than their current reserves.
In addition, it has been seen that minerals, energy and environment are strongly
linked. There can be no commercial energy production without minerals and vice
versa. Moreover, their extraction and use imply serious environmental problems.
Accordingly, the IEA developed the 450 Scenario, setting the prerequisites needed
to limit the global average temperature rise, due to the greenhouse effect, to 2
o
C.
But this reduction is not an easy challenge, especially as population continues to
climb exponentially. Indeed and according to the IEA, in order to satisfy the energy
demand for the near 9 billion of people expected in the middle of the 21st century,
fossil fuels will still need to be used, even if due to their scarcity they will have to
eventually be replaced by non-conventional sources. Electricity generation will also
have to evolve to low carbon sources including natural gas, renewables (expected to
cover 15% electricity demand in 2035) or even nuclear energy.
To achieve sustainability in all areas and in doing so decelerate global warming,
the UNEP proposes the paradigm of the Green Economy, which is said to reduce
carbon emissions and pollution, enhance energy and resource e
ciency and prevent
the loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services. However there is an important issue
that has not been adequately taken into account in global policies and protocols:
the scarcity and depletion of raw-materials.
This fact has been demonstrated in this chapter through a set of examples
including the materials used in bioenergy, solar photovoltaics or wind, all of which
require critical resources for their deployment. Some of which include phosphorous,
gallium, indium or REE, as key ingredients of permanent magnets, thin films,
batteries and phosphors.
Fortunately, the criticality of minerals is starting to be addressed by different
international organisations as a grave concern. The European Union has identified
14 minerals that are currently at risk of supply - among them tellurium, indium, tin,
hafnium, silver, dysprosium, gallium and neodymium the most critical ones. The
US Department of Energy, meanwhile, identifies dysprosium, europium, yttrium
and terbium as the most critical ones into the short and medium term.
Yet depletion of non-renewable resources is still not considered as one of
mankind's major problems with issues like the conservation of wellbeing (access
to energy, health, happiness and economic prosperity) heavily overshadowing any
concerns related to mineral exhaustion. Given this limited consideration, for the
most part the planet appears plentiful with any potential scarcity of resources simply
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