As world leaders descended on Glasgow for Cop26, Bill Gates pointed out that “there is no comparable feat that mankind has ever achieved to what we need to do for climate change”. Rebuilding the world with clean energy is a transition that will reshape the global economy. And it is one that risks setting us onto a new path of resource dependence.
Instead of coal and oil, our future will be powered by lithium and rare earths. Mass adoption of batteries, solar panels and wind turbines in the next two decades will see global demand for critical minerals soar. The World Bank estimates production may have to increase by 500 per cent. Lithium prices have already hit record highs.
But in this new race for
