By\u00a0Stephanie Dowlen<\/p>\n\n\n\n
MALMO, Sweden (IPS)\u00a0<\/strong>– Even amidst the regressive resistance of the current\u00a0U.S. administration<\/a>, the world is shifting toward a\u00a0green energy future<\/a>. As governments pledge to phase out fossil fuels, companies tout electric vehicles, and financiers pour billions into solar, wind and batteries, it seems the necessary transition from fossil fuels to clean energy is finally picking up pace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But beneath the celebratory headlines lies a darker, inconvenient truth: the race to extract \u201ctransition minerals\u201d widely used in current clean energy technology \u2014 is unleashing a new wave of destruction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And unless we change course, this mining boom will push us closer to collapse as it entrenches poverty, inequality, exploitation, violence and destruction. Expecting the same \u201cextraction at all costs\u201d model that created the planetary crisis we face today to solve it is a fallacy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In a new report from the Forests & Finance Coalition<\/a>, analysts found that banks and investors are rewarding bad behaviour by financing some of the worst polluters and human rights offenders in operation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Over half of the $493 billion in loans and underwriting provided between 2016 and 2024, and over 80% of the $289 billion held in bonds and shares went to just ten transition mineral mining companies. Among the winners are Glencore, Vale and Rio Tinto.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Proponents argue transition minerals are indispensable for renewable energy. But focusing on raw extraction rather than reducing demand, recycling or reuse, has fueled a rapid expansion of new mines. Too often, the narrative of \u201cgreen\u201d or \u201cclean\u201d energy obscures the real costs and justifies an extractive model mirroring the worst parts of the fossil fuel era.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The harms linked to mining are extreme. In Brazil, Vale has caused two catastrophic dam collapses<\/a> killing hundreds and destroying the environment as toxic waste spilled. Undeterred, banks increased their financing since Vale\u2019s second dam collapsed in 2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In Indonesia, Harita Group<\/a>\u2019s nickel complex is powered by coal, increasing emissions and damaging public health. Local communities on Obi Island<\/a> have been poisoned as carcinogenic waste has leached into the island\u2019s drinking water.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Recent investigations show that Harita\u2019s executives knew about this contamination and covered it up for over a decade while financiers backed its expansion and successful Initial Public Offering in 2023.<\/p>\n\n\n\n These are not isolated scandals but symptoms of a system where corporations are unaccountable, and where financiers choose profit over life again and again. Consider this: nearly 70 percent of transition mineral mines overlap<\/a> with Indigenous or community lands and over 70 percent are located in high-biodiversity regions already facing climate stress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Meanwhile, wealthy countries are demanding more minerals to produce EVs for affluent markets, while 600 million<\/a> people in Africa and 150 million in Asia still lack basic access to electricity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is not the blueprint for a just energy transition. It\u2019s a new extractive frontier \u2013 powering Teslas for the rich while leaving behind exploited workers, poisoned rivers, and displaced communities. Urgent reforms are needed to ensure the energy transition addresses the climate crisis instead of greenlighting destructive practices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n