Energy
Wednesday, February 14th, 2024 4:07 pm EDT
Key Points
- Concerns about China’s dominance: Granholm expressed significant concerns about China’s control over the global supply chain for critical minerals, particularly in light of the surging demand for these minerals essential to the energy transition.
- Strategic challenge and need for diversification: With China accounting for about 60% of the world’s production of rare earth minerals and materials, U.S. officials see this dominance as a strategic challenge, emphasizing the need to avoid over-reliance on countries with divergent values.
- Focus on cooperation and regulation: Granholm highlighted the importance of updating regulations, such as the 150-year-old mining law, to ensure sustainable and efficient extraction of critical minerals. Additionally, she stressed the significance of partnering with allies like Australia and Canada to diversify supply chains and address concerns about dependence on a single source.
U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm has expressed significant concerns regarding China’s dominance in the global supply chain for critical minerals, particularly amid the rising demand for metals essential to the energy transition, such as nickel, copper, lithium, and cobalt. China currently accounts for approximately 60% of the world’s production of rare earth minerals and materials, posing a strategic challenge for countries pivoting to low-carbon energy sources. Granholm emphasized the importance of not over-relying on countries with divergent values, highlighting the need for the United States to update regulations, including a 150-year-old mining law, to ensure sustainable and efficient extraction of critical minerals. She also stressed the significance of partnering with allies like Australia and Canada to diversify supply chains and address concerns about over-reliance on a single source. The International Energy Agency (IEA) has warned that the current supply of critical minerals falls short of what is needed for the energy sector transformation, given the high geographical concentration of production in certain countries. Granholm acknowledged the need for quick cooperation while recognizing that increasing domestic production will take time. She emphasized the importance of addressing both extraction and processing of critical minerals to support the transition to a clean energy economy, highlighting ongoing efforts to identify necessary raw materials and collaborate with allies in this endeavor.
For the full original article on CNBC, please click here: https://www.cnbc.com/2024/02/14/us-energy-chief-concerned-about-chinas-critical-minerals-dominance.html
