Open AccessFuture PM2.5 emissions from metal production to meet renewable energy demand
Author(s) -
Sagar Rathod,
Tami C. Bond,
Zbigniew Klimont,
Jeffrey R. Pierce,
N. M. Mahowald,
Chaitri Roy,
John F. Thompson,
Ryan P. Scott,
Karin O. Hoal,
Peter Rafaj
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
environmental research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.37
H-Index - 124
ISSN - 1748-9326
DOI - 10.1088/1748-9326/ac5d9c
Subject(s) - renewable energy , environmental science , fossil fuel , smelting , photovoltaics , natural resource economics , combustion , greenhouse gas , photovoltaic system , environmental protection , environmental engineering , waste management , engineering , ecology , materials science , chemistry , organic chemistry , economics , electrical engineering , biology , metallurgy
A shift from fossil fuel to renewable energy is crucial in limiting global temperature increase to 2 °C above preindustrial levels. However, renewable energy technologies, solar photovoltaics, wind turbines, and electric vehicles are metal-intensive, and the mining and smelting processes to obtain the needed metals are emission-intensive. We estimate the future PM 2.5 emissions from mining and smelting to meet the metal demand of renewable energy technologies in two climate pathways to be 0.3–0.6 Tg yr −1 in the 2020–2050 period, which are projected to contribute 10%–30% of total anthropogenic primary PM 2.5 combustion emissions in many countries. The concentration of mineral reserves in a few regions means the impacts are also regionally concentrated. Rapid decarbonization could lead to a faster reduction of overall anthropogenic PM 2.5 emissions but also could create more unevenness in the distributions of emissions relative to where demand occurs. Options to reduce metal-related PM 2.5 emissions by over 90% exist and are well understood; introducing policy requiring their installation could avoid emission hotspots.