Metals in a low-carbon economy: resource scarcity, climate change and business in a finite world
This study is an effort to comprehensively assess the potential effect of material scarcity on low-carbon energy technologies, taking into account the significant uncertainty in potential future supply. The research was conducted as part of the partnership programme between the business leaders’ initiative 3C (Combat Climate Change) and the Stockholm Environment Institute. This report explores how constraints on the availability of certain metals might affect the growth of new technologies such as photovoltaics, wind turbines, and electric vehicles that currently depend on these metals in their construction, which will then affect the ability to transition to a low-carbon economy.