Myths of the “Energy Transition”
People often speak of the “energy transition” as if it were a plan that could save humanity from the climate crisis. But what is it really? The so-called energy transition pushed for by the state is little more than a project to revitalize the mining industry. Ultimately, as we will explore throughout this text, this project is simply another chapter in the long history of extractivism, colonialism, capitalism, and ecocide.
This article offers a wide lens on the mining industry in the 21st century, on a global scale. It will allow for an understanding of the direct connections between the mining industry and the greenwashing underway in the “energy transition”. We will examine the contradictions inherent in “transition minerals”, and we will explore the links between the mining operations that produce them and the colonial, capitalist system that’s driving the process.
- What is the objective of this article?
This article is one part of a series of articles aimed at dispelling the myths upheld by political and economic elites and mining interests through the project of the “energy transition”. Under the guise of environmentalism, this program is being pushed by governments, lobbyists and the international institutions of neoliberalism. In order to unpack these connections, we will investigate the industrial and logistical stakes at the heart of such an “energy transition”, as well as the real interests at play. By legitimizing the continued existence and growth of the mining sector, these myths are directly in service of capital and the state. It is vital that we deconstruct the myths that threaten both the human population and the whole of the living world. The goal of this series of articles is to offer a counter-discourse to the greenwashing propaganda being pumped out by the forces of colonial capitalism.
- How to navigate this article
The myths that we will explore can be read separately, alone, backwards, upside-down, or in pyjamas. Each section is independent of the others. Feel free to only read about the myths that interest you the most, or enjoy the article in its entirety.
- Where does this information come from?
The majority of the information in this article comes from the book La ruée minière au XXIe siècle : Enquête sur les métaux à l'ère de la transition, written by the investigative journalist Celia Izoard and published by Éditions de la rue Dorion in 2024. This article is a summary of the exhaustive research she undertook and published. At the end of this article, you will find citations for the sections of the book that are cited. Links to other resources used to debunk these myths are also included throughout the text.
The golden age of mining was during the industrial revolution of the 18th and 19th centuries
Mining often feels like a bygone concern, yet this couldn’t be further from reality. Today there are more mines than ever and the mining industry is booming.
How many mines are there on Earth?
It is difficult to evaluate the number of active mines in existence, as mining corporations use various means to conceal information on their mining operations. However, the most exhaustive database lists 34,820 mines, including those that are no longer active. It’s estimated that more than 100,000 km2 of the planet’s surface is occupied by active mines in 2022, a statistic which excludes the 40% of all mines that are underground.[1]
Where are these mines?
Contrary to popular belief, mines can be found throughout the world even if the majority are located in the Global South. Mines have colonized every continent and exist in nearly every country—including Colombia, Ukraine, Morocco, the African Great Lakes region, Mexico, Spain, Chile, Canada, Brazil, Portugal, Papua New Guinea, the United States, and Turkey, to name just a few.[2]
How many minerals do we produce?
With more mines than ever, we are also mining more minerals. Since the turn of the century, we are currently mining double the amount of minerals per year, on a global basis.[3]
Not only are we extracting more and more minerals, but the pace of this extraction is accelerating. Over the next 20 years, the annual mining of minerals is expected to increase tenfold. If this market trend continues, “In 30 years, we’re set to extract as many minerals as have been extracted since the beginning of human history.”[4]
Mining remains a pressing concern—and the stakes are urgent.
There are enough minerals for our current economies to be decarbonized
There are not enough minerals available or accessible to decarbonize every country if their economies are maintained at their current scale. In this context, rich countries are competing to decarbonize their economies at the expense of the rest of the world.
Mineral deposits are increasingly less concentrated
Mineral resources were already in short supply. Until the 19th century, you could find “native” gold or “native” silver, i.e., pure extract. Today, mineral dust is mined in rocks 300 to 3,000 metres below the surface, because metal deposits are increasingly less concentrated: this means that more rocks need to be extracted to obtain the same quantity of metal.[5] Extracting additional rock necessarily means more toxic waste and more contaminated water. We also have to dig further, both underground and above ground, to obtain rock with a high enough concentration of minerals. In short, mining is becoming ever more technically complex and ever more polluting.
How many minerals will it take for the “transition”?
The current mining rush is taking place in the context of mineral resource scarcity. The capitalist elites’ “energy transition” project therefore depends on an immense and growing need for resources, drawn from an ever-dwindling supply. Electrifying Britain’s car stock alone would take two years of the world’s current annual copper production, 75% of its lithium production, and half that of its copper production.[6] The most exhaustive study to date, carried out by the Geological Institute of Finland, estimates that to decarbonize the planet’s entire energy production, it would be necessary to use 28 times the current annual world production of copper, 74 times that of nickel, more than 1,000 times that of lithium, and so on.[7] Given that industrial activity and capitalist production on the planet continues to grow, these numbers are likely to increase even further over the next few years.
States are worried about mineral capacity
Manufacturers and political elites themselves create alliances between states in order to secure their portion of “transition” minerals: “Western powers have banded together to create an international market for minerals between allied countries — such as the strategic mineral partnership agreement in June 2022 between the United States, the European Commission, Australia, Canada, Finland, France, Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom, Sweden and South Korea”.[8] More proof that the mineral supply remains uncertain.
In summary, there are serious reasons to doubt the viability of the capitalist “energy transition” project at the global scale. It is extremely likely that the mineral supply will not be sufficient, or that the costs to extract it will push the change beyond the reach of most industries.