"Globally, access to copper is characterized by deep inequality. The global rich, whose high levels of consumption and carbon emissions have largely created the climate crisis, have a lot of copper. The global poor, who contribute very little to our atmospheric carbon burden, consume very little of this increasingly precious metal.
As the world undergoes decarbonization, access to copper and other critical metals is becoming increasingly important, but environmental and social impacts, political resistance and unrest, and falling ore grades all pose ethical quandaries and associated supply issues.
Moving forward, proper consideration for communities impacted by mining must be done to ensure that the many benefits of modern industrial society are shared and that the costs of mining and producing copper don't fall disproportionately on poor and marginalized communities."
Read this article by Brian Wagenaar, former research fellow at Sustainable Development Strategies Group...
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Kat Friedrich
Editor in Chief
American Solar Energy Society
Monona WI
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