The rise of green tech is feeding another environmental crisis

Raquel Celina Rodriguez watches her step as she walks throughout the Vega de Tilopozo in Chile’s Atacama salt flats.

It is a wetland, recognized for its groundwater springs, however the plain is now dry and cracked with holes she explains have been as soon as swimming pools.

“Earlier than, the Vega was all inexperienced,” she says. “You could not see the animals via the grass. Now every thing is dry.” She gestures to some grazing llamas.

For generations, her household raised sheep right here. Because the local weather modified, and rain stopped falling, much less grass made that a lot more durable.

Nevertheless it worsened when “they” began taking the water, she explains.

“They” are lithium firms. Beneath the salt flats of the Atacama Desert lie the world’s largest reserves of lithium, a smooth, silvery-white steel that’s an integral part of the batteries that energy electrical vehicles, laptops and photo voltaic vitality storage.

Because the world transitions to extra renewable vitality sources, the demand for it has soared.

In 2021, about 95,000 tonnes of lithium was consumed globally – by 2024 it had greater than doubled to 205,000 tonnes, in response to the Worldwide Power Company (IEA).

By 2040 it is predicted to rise to greater than 900,000 tonnes.

A lot of the improve will probably be pushed by demand for electrical automotive batteries, the IEA says.

Locals say environmental prices to them have risen too.

So, this hovering demand has raised the query: is the world’s race to decarbonise unintentionally stoking one other environmental drawback?

Chile is the second-largest producer of lithium globally after Australia. In 2023, the federal government launched a Nationwide Lithium Technique to ramp up manufacturing via partly nationalising the business and inspiring non-public funding.

Its finance minister beforehand mentioned the rise in manufacturing may very well be by as much as 70% by 2030, though the mining ministry says no goal has been set.

This yr, a serious milestone to that’s set to be reached.

A deliberate joint enterprise between SQM and Chile’s state mining firm Codelco has simply secured regulatory approval for a quota to extract at the least 2.5 million metric tonnes of lithium steel equal per yr and increase manufacturing till 2060.

Chile’s authorities has framed the plans as a part of the worldwide battle in opposition to local weather change and a supply of state earnings.

Mining firms predominantly extract lithium by pumping brine from beneath Chile’s salt flats to evaporation swimming pools on the floor.

The method extracts huge quantities of water on this already drought-prone area.

Faviola Gonzalez is a biologist from the native indigenous group working within the Los Flamencos Nationwide Reserve, in the course of the Atacama Desert, dwelling to huge salt flats, marshes and lagoons and a few 185 species of birds. She has monitored how the native surroundings is altering.

“The lagoons listed here are smaller now,” she says. “We have seen a lower within the copy of flamingos.”

She mentioned lithium mining impacts microorganisms that birds feed on in these waters, so the entire meals chain is affected.

She factors to a spot the place, for the primary time in 14 years, flamingo chicks hatched this yr. She attributes the “small reproductive success” to a slight discount in water extraction in 2021, however says, “It is small.”

“Earlier than there have been many. Now, just a few.”

The underground water from the Andes, wealthy in minerals, is “very outdated” and replenishes slowly.

“If we’re extracting a whole lot of water and little is getting into, there’s little to recharge the Salar de Atacama,” she explains.

Injury to flora has additionally been present in some areas. On property within the salt flats, mined by the Chilean firm SQM, nearly one-third of the native “algarrobo” (or carob) bushes had began dying as early as 2013 as a result of impacts of mining, in response to a report revealed in 2022 by the US-based Nationwide Assets Protection Council.

However the subject extends past Chile too. In a report for the US-based Nationwide Assets Protection Council in 2022, James J. A. Blair, an assistant professor at California State Polytechnic College, wrote that lithium mining is “contributing to circumstances of ecological exhaustion”, and “could lower freshwater availability for natural world in addition to people”.

He did, nonetheless, say that it’s troublesome to search out “definitive” proof on this matter.

Environmental injury is in fact inevitable in the case of mining. “It is laborious to think about any type of mining that doesn’t have a destructive influence,” says Karen Smith Stegen, a political science professor in Germany, who research the impacts of lithium mining internationally.

The problem is that mining firms can take steps to mitigate that injury. “What [mining companies] ought to have completed from the very starting was to contain these communities,” she says.

For instance, earlier than pumping lithium from underground, firms may perform “social influence assessments” – evaluations which keep in mind the broad influence their work may have on water, wildlife, and communities.

For his or her half, mining firms now say they’re listening. The Chilean agency SQM is likely one of the most important gamers.

At one among their vegetation in Antofagasta, Valentín Barrera, Deputy Supervisor of Sustainability at SQM Lithium, says the agency is working carefully with communities to “perceive their issues” and finishing up environmental influence assessments.

He feels strongly that in Chile and globally “we want extra lithium for the vitality transition.”

He provides that the agency is piloting new applied sciences. If profitable, the concept is to roll these out of their Salar de Atacama vegetation.

These embody each extracting lithium immediately from brine, with out evaporation swimming pools, and applied sciences to seize evaporated water and re-inject it into the land.

“We’re doing a number of pilots to know which one works higher as a way to improve manufacturing however cut back at the least 50% of the present brine extraction,” he mentioned.

He says the pilot in Antofagasta has recovered “multiple million cubic metres” of water. “Beginning in 2031, we’re going to begin this transition.”

However the locals I spoke to are sceptical. “We imagine the Salar de Atacama is like an experiment,” Faviola argues.

She says it is unknown how the salt flats may “resist” this new expertise and the reinjection of water and fears they’re getting used as a “pure laboratory.”

Sara Plaza, whose household additionally raised animals in the identical group as Raquel, is anxious in regards to the adjustments she has seen in her lifetime.

She remembers water ranges dropping from as early as 2005 however says “the mining firms by no means stopped extracting.”

Sara turns into tearful when she speaks in regards to the future.

“The salt flats produce lithium, however at some point it’s going to finish. Mining will finish. And what are the folks right here going to do? With out water, with out agriculture. What are they going to dwell on?”

“Possibly I will not see it due to my age, however our youngsters, our grandchildren will.”

She believes mining firms have extracted an excessive amount of water from an ecosystem already struggling from local weather change.

“It’s extremely painful,” she provides. “The businesses give the group somewhat cash, however I would desire no cash.

“I would desire to dwell off nature and have water to dwell.”

Sergio Cubillos is head of the affiliation for the Peine group, the place Sara and Raquel dwell.

He says Peine has been compelled to alter “our whole consuming water system, electrical system, water therapy system” due to water shortages.

“There may be the difficulty of local weather change, that it does not rain anymore, however the primary influence has been brought on by extractive mining,” he says.

He says because it began within the Nineteen Eighties, firms have extracted hundreds of thousands of cubic metres of water and brine – a whole bunch of litres per second.

“Selections are made in Santiago, within the capital, very removed from right here,” he provides.

He believes that if the President needs to battle local weather change, like he mentioned when he ran for workplace, he must contain “the indigenous individuals who have existed for millennia in these landscapes.”

Sergio understands that lithium is essential for transitioning to renewable vitality however says his group shouldn’t be the “bargaining chip” in these developments.

His group has secured some financial advantages and oversight with firms however is frightened about plans to ramp up manufacturing.

He says whereas looking for applied sciences to scale back the influence on water is welcome that “cannot be completed sitting at a desk in Santiago, however slightly right here within the territory.”

Chile’s authorities stresses there was “ongoing dialogue with indigenous communities” and so they have been consulted over the brand new Codelco-SQM three way partnership’s contracts to deal with issues round water points, new applied sciences and contributions to the communities.

It says rising manufacturing capability will probably be primarily based on incorporating new applied sciences to minimise the environmental and social influence and that the excessive “worth” of lithium resulting from its position within the international vitality transition may present “alternatives” for the nation’s financial improvement.

Sergio although worries about their space being a “pilot undertaking” and says if the influence of latest expertise is destructive, “We’ll put all our energy into stopping the exercise that might finish with Peine being forgotten.”

The Salar de Atacama is a case examine for a worldwide dilemma. Local weather change is inflicting droughts and climate adjustments. However one of many world’s present options is – in response to locals – exacerbating this.

There’s a frequent argument from individuals who help lithium mining: that even when it damages the surroundings, it brings enormous advantages by way of jobs and money.

Daniel Jimenez, from lithium consultancy iLiMarkets, in Santiago, takes this argument a step additional.

He claims that environmental injury has been exaggerated by communities who desire a pay-out.

“That is about cash,” he argues. “Corporations have poured some huge cash into enhancing roads, faculties – however the claims of communities actually return to the very fact they need cash.”

However Prof Stegen is unconvinced. “Mining firms at all times wish to say, ‘There are extra jobs, you are going to get extra money’,” she says.

“Effectively, that is not significantly what a whole lot of indigenous communities need. It truly will be disruptive if it adjustments the construction of their very own conventional financial system [and] it impacts their housing prices.

“The roles usually are not the be all and finish all for what these communities need.”

In Chile, these I spoke to did not discuss wanting extra money. Nor are they against measures to deal with local weather change. Their most important query is why they’re paying the worth.

“I feel for the cities perhaps lithium is sweet,” Raquel says. “Nevertheless it additionally harms us. We do not dwell the life we used to dwell right here.”

Faviola doesn’t suppose electrifying alone is the answer to local weather change.

“All of us should cut back our emissions,” she says. “In developed international locations just like the US and Europe the vitality expenditure of individuals is far better than right here in South America, amongst us indigenous folks.”

“Who’re the electrical vehicles going to be for? Europeans, People, not us. Our carbon footprint is far smaller.”

“Nevertheless it’s our water that is being taken. Our sacred birds which are disappearing.”

High picture credit score: Getty Photographs. Further reporting: George Wright

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