How to still Europe’s hunger for minerals
Every electric car starts underground. Inside its battery are lithium, nickel, cobalt and manganese, dug out of the earth thousands of kilometres from Europe’s roads. As the continent swaps petrol for plugs, the hunger for these metals is growing fast. Brussels has a plan to feed it: mine more at home, strike deals abroad and build up stockpiles. What gets far less attention is the number at the top of the shopping list. How much do we actually need? Part of the answer is parked on our streets. In 2010, about one in ten new cars sold in Europe was a heavy SUV. By 2023, it was more than one in two. Bigger cars need bigger batteries, and bigger batteries need more metal. For a handful of carmakers, that means bigger profit margins, too. Meanwhile, the price is paid far from the showroom. In Argentina, Indonesia and the Democratic Republic of Congo, mining communities face drained wetlands, polluted water and growing pressure on Indigenous rights. So is demand something we simply have to meet, or something we can choose to shape?
Together with Joseph Wilde-Ramsing Director of Advocacy at SOMO Stefanie Degreif Reseracher resources and mobility at Öko-Institut Alejandro González Senior Researcher at SOMO Maria Pia Marchegiani Deputy Director and Environmental Policy Director at FARN Hedda Roberts Project Coordinator at Hot or Cool Institute Sjoukje van Oosterhout Tweede Kamerlid Progressief Nederland - woordvoerder Klimaat, Energie & Mijnbouw Alancay Morales Garro Business and Human Rights Advisor at IWGIA