Most Critical Minerals Aren’t Going to the Energy Transition

An Oakland Institute analysis challenges claims that a large increase in mining is an unavoidable cost of replacing fossil fuels. Using International Energy Agency (IEA) data, Oakland calculated that wind, solar, renewable-power networks, grid batteries and electric vehicles accounted for 26% of combined demand for copper, lithium, nickel, cobalt, graphite and magnet rare earths in 2024. It assigned the remaining 74% to construction, conventional transport, industrial machinery, defense, electronics and other uses. The calculation describes consumption…