Emissions from mining cause ‘up to £2.5tn’ in environmental damages each year – Carbon Brief

Source: Emissions from mining cause ‘up to £2.5tn’ in environmental damages each year – Carbon Brief

Extractive industries provide the world with fossil fuels, metal ores and mineral resources, but the new research, published in the Journal for Cleaner Production, finds that their total environmental costs amount to as much as £4tn ($5tn) every year. Most are attributed to greenhouse gases, particulate matter and acidification – particularly from the coal and steel sectors.

UN secretary-general António Guterres has called mineral resources one of Earth’s “great endowments”, which plays a “dominant role” in the economies of dozens of countries. Indeed, the study demonstrates that, for most countries, the mining sector delivers larger economic gains than losses. 

However, it also concludes that for some vulnerable countries – such as Gabon, Madagascar and Afghanistan – the environmental costs could exceed the economic gains. This chimes with what is often described as the “resource curse”, referring to links between mineral extraction and negative outcomes, such as inequality and environmental destruction.

With fossil fuel extraction representing nearly half of the environmental costs – without including the combustion of the resulting fuels – the authors say the findings highlight the benefits of moving towards cleaner energy sources…