Critical Minerals Emerge as the New Oil in Global Energy Transition
According to the Economic Desk of Webangah News Agency, beneath the rhetoric of decarbonization lies an uncomfortable truth: the minerals powering the net-zero energy shift are reviving geopolitical inequalities. Demand for critical minerals is surging, with the International Energy Agency (IEA) projecting a 400% increase in lithium demand, 200% for cobalt, and nearly 100% for nickel by 2040. Electric vehicles require six times more minerals than conventional cars, while offshore wind farms need six times more than gas-fired plants.
China controls approximately 60% of rare earth element production and nearly 90% of global processing capacity. The U.S. remains entirely import-reliant for at least a dozen critical minerals and over 50% dependent for about 30 others. When Beijing briefly restricted gallium and germanium exports in 2024, CFR analysts warned of potential multibillion-dollar shocks to advanced manufacturing supply chains. Minerals once confined to geology have become instruments of statecraft.
Australia, producing nearly half the world’s lithium and holding vast reserves of nickel, cobalt, manganese, and rare earths, frames these resources as both economic opportunities and strategic assets. Its critical minerals strategy promises value-chain ascension and governance capabilities, reinforced by new bilateral frameworks with the U.S., Japan, India, and the EU, positioning Australia as a reliable supplier in a fragmenting world.
Researchers from the United Nations University propose a “Global Minerals Trustee”—a collaborative framework to manage critical minerals as shared strategic assets, stabilize markets, enforce transparency, and ensure equitable benefit-sharing. Others advocate integrating mineral management directly into climate architecture, with binding standards on labor rights, indigenous consent, and environmental protection.
The G7 has endorsed principles for standards-based critical minerals markets, with Canada linking its critical minerals funding to indigenous partnerships. Resource governance is expected to feature prominently in COP30’s just transition negotiations. These are early steps, but they signal that minerals are no longer mere commodities—they are the foundation of the climate response.
