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Meeting the Global Energy Transition: A Conversation with Jonathan Pershing
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“Things that we used to think were 20 or 30 years into the future are in fact happening today… Climate change is noticeably changing the extent, the severity, and the frequency of these kinds of events.”
This stark assessment from Jonathan Pershing, Program Director of Environment at the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, is at the center of a discussion of progress made and needed for international climate commitments, the role of critical minerals in the green energy transition, and climate-related migration trends with ECSP Senior Fellow Sherri Goodman and ECSP Program Associate Amanda King in this week’s episode of New Security Broadcast. Pershing brings a wealth of perspective to the conversation, drawing on his roles formally supporting Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry, and serving both as a Special Envoy for Climate Change at the U.S. Department of State and lead U.S. negotiator to the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change.
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Creating a Just Transition in Green Minerals: A New Video from the Wilson Center and its Partners
›We need minerals to build the solar panels, wind turbines, and other technologies that will decarbonize our economies—and we need a lot of them. The World Bank estimates that demand for lithium, cobalt, and graphite could jump by as much as 500 percent by 2050. Yet mining for these resources has had a fraught history, and it continues to be associated with a hefty list of human rights and conflict risks, including violence, child labor, poor working conditions, land rights abuses, environmental damage and pollution, and a lack of community participation. -
Community-centered Approaches to Green Mineral Mining: A Conversation With Pact’s Roger-Mark De Souza
›According to the World Bank, building enough renewable energy infrastructure to keep global warming below 2C will require more than 3 billion tons of minerals. Reducing emissions quickly is crucial to minimizing risk for the world’s most climate-vulnerable communities, many of whom are on the front lines of a crisis they did not create. But unless we are careful, ramping up mining in order to decarbonize could actually worsen inequity and injustice. “How do we do this quickly, safely, and sustainably, in ways that benefit all?” asks Lauren Risi, Director of the Wilson Center’s Environmental Change and Security Program in this week’s New Security Broadcast.
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New Analysis by Peter Schwartzstein: How Water Strategizing is Remaking the Middle East
›In the run up to COP 27 in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, the first summit of its kind to be hosted in the region, water is rising on the agenda, and for good reason. In a new essay for the Wilson Center, Global Fellow Peter Schwartzstein explores how governments across the Middle East are approaching a world with less water – and to what effect. Drawing on a decade of environmental reportage from the Middle East, Schwartzstein sketches out how, why, and with what consequences states have adopted often dramatically divergent strategies.
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What Better Looks Like: Breaking the Critical Minerals Resource Curse
›In recent years, the urgency of climate action has brought fresh attention to the critical minerals sector. Growing renewable energy investments are driving up demand for resources like lithium, cobalt, and copper, which form the mineral backbone of green technologies. But there are substantial concerns to navigate when it comes to sourcing green energy minerals.
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Protecting Human Rights in DRC Cobalt Mines: A U.S. Priority in a Green Transition
›Secretary of State Anthony J. Blinken recently reaffirmed the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)—a nation located in Africa’s heart—as a “geostrategic player and critical partner” for the United States. It is a country that features prominently in climate change discussions, not only because of its vast natural resources (including mineral wealth estimated to be the largest in the world, as well as possession of a forest cover second only to the Amazon Basin), but especially due to its cobalt reserves.
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The Powerful Policy Ripples of Washington State’s CETA
›States are sometimes overlooked as drivers of climate action, yet some of them have been true leaders that bring significant influence. In Washington State, for instance, a strong coalition has worked to develop a smart, foundational climate policy for decarbonization in all sectors of the state’s economy.
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Bolivia and Lithium: Can slow and steady win the race?
›The looming 27th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP) of the UNFCCC in Egypt in November 2022 brings with it a moment of truth for many nations. They must intensify decarbonization efforts to meet their share of global commitments agreed upon at the Paris COP. Yet, the already significant challenges also have intensified. Disruptions of oil and gas flows caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine are slowing a global green energy transition—at least in the short-term. The depth of the crisis means countries are even scrambling to keep coal-powered plants working.
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