Environment & climate
The scramble for the minerals behind the green transition
11 min
Clean energy runs on lithium, cobalt, nickel, and rare earths — and the supply chains are concentrated in a handful of countries. Unpack the geopolitics, environmental costs, and strategic scramble for the materials of the future.
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Show notes
Onshore wind power requires nine times more minerals than traditional gas-fired power plants.
The Democratic Republic of Congo currently produces seventy percent of the world's mined cobalt.
China is projected to supply eighty percent of the world's battery-grade graphite by twenty thirty-five.
Project Vault is a twelve billion dollar United States initiative to build strategic mineral reserves.
Mineral demand for electric vehicles is projected to grow tenfold by the year twenty forty.
Global stockpiling efforts are creating a paradox that drives mineral prices higher for everyone.
In this episode
- 1Intro1 min
- 2The Material Reality of Clean Energy3 min
- 3The Geography of Concentration3 min
- 4Project Vault and the Stockpiling Race3 min
- 5The Human and Environmental Cost2 min
- 6Outro1 min
Sources
- The fight over ‘critical minerals,’ explained » Yale Climate Connections
- Critical minerals geopolitics in 2026: risks, supply chains and global ...
- UNCTAD: Governments Turn to Trade Policy to Secure Critical Mineral Supplies | Inter Press Service
- The scramble to stockpile minerals could drive up energy transition costs
- How China took over the rare earths industry and can the U.S. win it back : Planet Money : NPR
- UN calls for fair play in the global race for critical minerals | UN News
- The geopolitics behind critical minerals (Episode 25)
- India’s Critical Mineral Challenge in a New Global Resource Order – The Diplomat
- [PDF] The Scramble for Critical Minerals - Ferdi
- Rare Earths
- Diversification is the cornerstone of energy security, yet critical minerals are moving in the opposite direction - News - IEA
- Governments are rushing to hoard metals in 'resource nationalism' era
- Navigating energy transition solutions for climate targets with minerals constraint | Nature Climate Change
- Clean Energy Transition: The New Strategic Chokepoints
- Mineral requirements for clean energy transitions – The Role of Critical Minerals in Clean Energy Transitions – Analysis - IEA
- Executive summary – The Role of Critical Minerals in Clean Energy Transitions – Analysis - IEA
- The Role of Critical Minerals in Clean Energy Transitions
- The Role of Critical Minerals in Clean Energy Transitions
- Overview of outlook for key minerals – Global Critical Minerals Outlook 2025 – Analysis - IEA
- The state of play – The Role of Critical Minerals in Clean Energy Transitions – Analysis - IEA
- Global Critical Minerals Outlook 2025
- Global Critical Minerals Outlook 2024 – Analysis - IEA
- Strengthening Project Vault: The US plan to stockpile critical minerals | PIIE
- The Stockpile Gap: How America Can Secure the Strategic Materials It Needs to Win | Council on Foreign Relations
- Rare Earth Elements
- Trump launches $12 billion minerals stockpile to counter China | Reuters
- The Role of Critical Minerals in Clean Energy Transitions (EN)
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