Redraw the transportation roadmap now

A timebomb in copper mining should prompt policymakers to rethink road transport before battery-electric vehicles go down a dangerous dead end

Climate policies assume the copper required to transition to zero carbon emissions is plentiful. That may be so, but the problem is it cannot be mined fast enough to electrify in a meaningful way. Hybrids, not full battery-electric vehicles, are the answer. A report by the International Energy Forum (IEF), an institution that brings together producers and consumers, has highlighted the risks of pursuing a full electric vehicle (EV) rollout by Western countries in the next ten years. EVs require 60kg of copper compared with an internal combustion engine automobile, which needs 24kg copper, and hybrids, which need 29kg. While the copper resources are available, 100% manufacture of EVs by 2035