Vienna (OTS) – Renewable energy technologies save coal, oil and gas, but require raw materials such as cobalt, lithium, copper, aluminum and iron. An international study involving BOKU quantifies these increases in raw materials and shows ways in which resource consumption in the areas of mobility, housing and nutrition can be reduced.
The study “Demand-side Strategies Key for Mitigating Material Impacts of Energy Transitions” is published in the current issue of the renowned journal Nature Climate Change It discusses an optimistic scenario from the perspective of climate protection, in which the use of fossil fuels can be reduced quickly. Lead author is Felix Creutzig from the Mercator Research Institute on Global Commons and Climate Change (MCC) in Berlin. Contributors include Helmut Haberl and Dominik Wiedenhofer from BOKU University and Volker Krey from the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA).
New materials, new problems?
Without countermeasures, the material and land requirements for renewable energies, electric cars and sustainable transport infrastructure, as well as the amount of waste, will increase. “Although decarbonization will make the global economy as a whole less resource-intensive than today, and emissions of greenhouse gases and other pollutants will fall, the need for cobalt and lithium for electric cars will increase twentyfold. The need for iron, aluminum and copper for wind turbines and power grids could also double,” comments Felix Creutzig. This brings with it considerable ecological and social risks at the regional and local level. “In our study, we systematically show for the first time that demand-side climate solutions can counteract this – for example through behavioral changes in mobility, housing and nutrition, as well as through the expansion of material cycles in the economy.”
A detailed risk profile was created for each raw material through a comprehensive evaluation of the scientific literature. Factors such as land requirements, risks to biodiversity, the sometimes enormous water requirements, health damage caused by toxins, poor working conditions, and consequential effects such as corruption, political instability and geopolitical dependencies were taken into account. For example, the politically extremely unstable Guinea is responsible for almost a quarter of the world’s production of the aluminum precursor bauxite. Half of the cobalt deposits are located in the civil war-torn Congo, and 90 percent of the semiconductor wafers for solar cells are produced in China. “The increasing demand for materials leads to social, ecological and geopolitical risks. These include the displacement of people from areas where raw materials are extracted, injuries and deaths due to accidents at work, cartel structures, corruption and other grievances,” warns Volker Krey.
Demand-side solutions with double benefits
These problems can be limited by keeping energy and resource requirements as low as possible through demand-side measures. “Our study shows that there is considerable potential to reduce energy and resource consumption without the need for restrictions,” emphasizes Helmut Haberl. Demand-side strategies such as improving resource efficiency, replacing individual mobility with public transport, reusing and recycling existing materials and thermal renovation of buildings play a crucial role in this. Resource-saving design, for example in photovoltaic and wind power systems, as well as increased recycling of raw materials can also help to limit the resource consumption of the climate transition. “Our research underlines the double benefit of demand-side solutions in curbing climate change and reducing material consumption,” says Creutzig.
In the transport sector, for example, traffic-saving structures can promote active mobility. This not only saves energy, but also has a positive impact on health through increased exercise. Pooling solutions such as car sharing can drastically reduce the need for private vehicles, which reduces both material requirements and emissions. In the building sector, natural building materials should be used, old buildings should be modernized, and living space should be used more intensively. Less meat consumption not only leads to better health, but also to lower material consumption, for example in livestock feed production. “This is not about coercion, but about positive incentives for people and investments in infrastructure that promote climate-friendly practices such as active mobility and healthy eating,” Haberl continues.
Finally, the researchers in the study call for increased interdisciplinary cooperation and innovative approaches in policy-making to effectively use these demand-side measures. They emphasize the importance of integrating such strategies into global climate change mitigation plans to ensure a holistic approach to sustainable development.
Source reference for the cited study: Creutzig , F. , Simoes , S. , Leipold , S. , Berrill , P. , Azevedo , I. , Edelenbosch , O. , Fishman , T. , Haberl , H. , Hertwich , E. , Krey , V. , Lima , A. , Makov , T. , Mastrucci , A. , Milojevic-Dupont , N. , Nachtigall , F. , Pauliuk , S. , Silva , M. , Verdolini , E. , van Vuuren , D. , Wagner , F., Wiedenhofer, D., Wilson, C., 2024, Demand-side Strategies Key to Mitigating Material Impacts of Energy Transitions, 2024 . Nature Climate Change
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