Clean Energy Can’t Come at the Expense of the Ocean—and it Doesn’t Have To

Lisa Levin, Peter Haugan, Ines Aguiar Branco and Katie Flanagan Energy Solutions

Clean Energy Can’t Come at the Expense of the Ocean—and it Doesn’t Have To
Photo by Mark Harpur on Unsplash

As clean energy expands, demand for metals and rare earth elements is growing along with it.  Developing the wind turbines, solar panels and batteries that will power our low-carbon future requires cobalt, nickel, zinc, copper, silver, gold, lithium and more.

While these materials have historically been sourced on land, there’s increasing interest in tapping into supplies found underwater, through deep-seabed mining. Yet a new Blue Paper commissioned by the High Level Panel for a Sustainable Ocean Economy finds that deep-seabed mining is a potentially risky proposition that may, in fact, be unnecessary given the rapid development of alternative technologies that reduce demand.

Read the full post here.



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