To help meet the needs of the energy transition, global demand for copper – a mineral critical for making electric vehicles, wind turbines and solar panels – is set to rise more than 40% by 2040, fuelling concern over the risks its extraction poses to the environment and human rights, new data shows.
In its latest Global Trade Update, UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD) projected this week that 80 new copper mines and $250 billion in investment would be required by 2030 to meet demand and avoid a looming shortfall that could stall the world’s shift to clean energy and digital infrastructure.
The report called copper the “new strategic raw material” for the green and digital economy – and a test case for how global trade systems handle resource pressures under strain.
“Copper is no longer just a commodity – it’s a strategic asset,” Luz María de la Mora, director of UNCTAD’s Division on International Trade and Commodities, said in a statement.
“Its market exposes the power asymmetries that still shape global trade. That’s why we need to invest in local value addition, scale up recycling and remove trade barriers that limit opportunity.”
A separate new study, meanwhile, has warned that ramping up copper production could come at a human and environmental cost.
In its Transition Minerals Tracker published on Wednesday, the Business and Human Rights Resource Centre (BHRRC), a global research and advocacy group, singled out copper as associated with 513 allegations of human rights abuses recorded between 2010 and 2024, accounting for about 60% of a total of 835 cases linked to the mining of transition minerals.
The tracker monitors abuses associated with the extraction of eight key transition minerals – copper, bauxite, cobalt, lithium, manganese, nickel, zinc and iron ore.
These minerals, used to produce technologies such as solar panels, wind turbines and electric vehicles, have become more sought after in the global push towards clean energy and electrification.
Why the world is racing to mine critical minerals
But Caroline Avan, head of just transition and natural resources at BHRRC, warned that the urgency of the energy transition should not be used to “justify an unprincipled scramble for transition minerals” that is driving widespread human rights abuses, environmental destruction and growing community conflict.
A transition built on exploitative minerals supply chains “is not simply unjust – it is unstable, unpredictable, and ultimately unsustainable”, she said, adding that “the path to net zero cannot be paved with more injustice and global inequality”.
Hidden cost of copper extraction
With copper reserves concentrated in five countries – Chile, Peru, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Australia and Russia – the researchers found that the highest number of allegations in the 15-year period occurred in three of those countries, including 14% of the total in Peru, 11% in Chile and 10% in the DRC.
In 2024 alone, more than half of the 156 abuse allegations linked to minerals projects and mines were associated with copper extraction, which over the years has faced significant operational threats as a result of conflicts with communities and associated legal challenges, the researchers said.
Central and South America featured as hotspots for copper-related legal cases. The researchers also found that 52% of copper mines located in high water stress areas had impacts on water access and/or pollution.
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This year, four copper mining companies operating in Zambia, including one British and three Chinese firms, have been accused of releasing toxic mining waste into the Kafue River’s watershed in one of the country’s worst environmental disasters.
The most devastating spill occurred in February, when the tailings dam holding mining waste from Chinese company Sino-Metals Leach Zambia burst its walls and released acidic effluent into the river.
The pollution killed fish, burned maize and groundnut crops and led to the deaths of livestock, wiping out livelihoods and causing the water supply to the nearby town of Kitwe to be shut down.
Indigenous peoples on the frontline
The alleged abuses in BHRRC’s Transition Minerals Tracker usually affect individuals and families living near mining sites and their environment, with three in five involving local communities and another 77 infringing on Indigenous Peoples’ rights, including violation of their right to Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) about projects.
Edson Krenak, Brazil cultural survival lead, wrote in a forward to the research: “Rushing to extract more minerals without reducing consumption or showing true respect for our rights is not only reckless – it is unjust and unfair,” adding that the world must listen more to Indigenous voices.
In her contribution, Annabella Rosemberg, senior advisor on just transition with Climate Action Network (CAN) International, called for “a rights-based approach throughout renewable energy value chains, where all human rights are respected, where workers are treated fairly – and where the opportunities of this extraordinary and unprecedented global effort are harnessed to build shared prosperity”.
Mining firms lack human rights policies
The researchers found that just 20 companies have been associated with 60% of allegations and attacks since 2010, with the top five companies for 2024 listed as Georgian American Alloys, China Minmetals, Codelco, Grupo México and Sinomine Resource Group.
Additionally, the tracker documented 157 attacks against human rights and environmental defenders, accounting for one in five of the total abuse allegations recorded.
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Despite the problems recorded, less than half of all mines associated with at least one allegation in the tracker are covered by a corporate human rights policy. And fewer than 30 mines are associated with 50% of allegations, demonstrating that while human rights issues are widespread in the sector, some mines have become a focus for allegations of abuses and conflict.
Rosemberg of CAN International wrote in the report that the enormous impacts of “unchecked mining” on the world’s most marginalised groups – already disproportionately affected by climate change – should not be left out of climate conversations.
“Conversely, we need to be clear that extracting more minerals, at all costs, and without a serious look at reducing energy and material demand, notably in the richest countries, will not answer the climate crisis nor the hopes of economic prosperity in resource-rich countries,” she added.
