Climate Coach: EVs have a mineral problem

Should that be a deal-breaker? ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

PUBLISHED BY READ ONLINE | SIGN UP Down-to-earth advice for life on our changing planet. (Illustration by Emily Sabens/The Washington Post; John Moore/Getty; iStock)   By Michael J. Coren Many of you asked: Are electric cars really better for the environment after mining all those minerals to build one? It's easy to look at an open-pit mine and assume the worst.  I went in search of hard numbers to answer your questions. Here's what I found out: To read the full column from The Washington Post, click here.  Electric vehicles, you might have heard, have a mineral problem. Beneath the floor of an EV sits a 900-pound battery filled with minerals extracted from around the world. Millions of tons of lithium, cobalt, bauxite and other minerals are mined, processed, shipped and refined — sometimes leaving a trail of human rights and environmental abuses. For some, that makes fossil fuel engines look good by comparison. No one wants to drive around on the cobalt equivalent of blood diamonds. But does all this mining negate the climate and environmental benefits of EVs compared to sticking with gas? I looked into the world's evolving supply chains for the clean-energy economy. In every scenario, it turns out, the demand for battery minerals represents a tiny fraction of the amounts of fossil fuels now needed to power the world. What's in a battery A typical 200-mile range EV lugs around a lithium-ion battery pack that's nearly a third of the weight of the vehicle. Roughly a third, or 353 pounds, are crucial minerals that complete the circuit, including cobalt, nickel, manganese, graphite, aluminum and copper, estimates Transport and Environment, a nongovernmental organization campaigning for cleaner transport. Not counting steel and aluminum, says MIT, an EV requires six times more minerals than a conventional vehicle. We will need a massive increase in these materials in the coming years. Global EV sales are predicted to surpass gas-vehicle sales in just over a decade after having blown past early projections. Where do the minerals come from? Mining minerals is never a clean affair. Cobalt from Congo, lithium and graphite from China, nickel from Indonesia and Russia, and battery supply chains that run through Xinjiang in the Uyghur region, where forced labor has been rampant: All of these have real, immediate problems, which The Post explored in our "Clean Cars, Hidden Toll" series. These environmental and social problems are real. But compared to the track record of the oil, gas and coal industry, they are a drop in the barrel. Oil extraction dwarfs mining Minerals mined for the clean-energy economy are measured in millions of tons per year. For fossil fuel extraction, that's a rounding error. In 2020, building the world's wind turbines, solar panels, EVs and other clean-energy infrastructure demanded 7 million tons of minerals, estimates the International Energy Agency. Roughly half of this was destined for batteries and EVs. The oil, gas and coal industry, by contrast, extracted an estimated 15 billion metric tons in 2019. What does this mean for the climate? EVs already emit less than a third of the emissions per mile than their gasoline counterparts, on average, if you're plugging into America's electricity mix. But what if you account for emissions from mining metals, manufacturing, refueling and disposal of EVs? Noah Horesh, a researcher at Colorado State University who studies life cycle emissions in the transportation sector, analyzes emissions over a vehicle's life span. He estimates fossil fuel vehicles generate roughly twice the emissions of an EV, even accounting for emissions from extracting added minerals and metals. This difference will only grow as the electricity sector decarbonizes, and battery manufacturing becomes far more efficient.  A cleaner future for EVs? Cleaning up the mineral supply chain for batteries, unlike the oil industry, remains a distinct possibility. But none of this is guaranteed. Lead the Charge, an advocacy network tracking the supply chains of the world's leading automakers, says many are making progress on their efforts to eliminate emissions, environmental harms and human rights violations. You can see their leader board of automakers here. "But as an industry," it says, "there is a long way to go." To read the full column from The Washington Post, click here. Did you know I read all your emails? Be part of the Climate Coach community. Write with what you'd like to see in this newsletter: climatecoach@washpost.com. Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up here to get The Climate Coach newsletter in your inbox every Tuesday and Thursday. See you on Thursday, Michael Coren, Climate Coach     Manage my email newsletters and alerts Unsubscribe from Climate Coach | Privacy Policy | Help You received this email because you signed up for Climate Coach or because it is included in your subscription. ©2023 The Washington Post 1301 K St NW, Washington DC 20071