The allure of ‘green jobs’ has been growing in recent years. This specialised
career portal enables job seekers to explore how their skills can align with the
green economy. However, a pertinent question arises: are all jobs in the green
sector as environmentally friendly as they claim to be?
For individuals engaged in the extraction of & ‘critical minerals’ the answer may
not be as straightforward. Critical minerals are those deemed essential for a
country’s economic security and are vulnerable to supply chain disruptions.
While the definition of these minerals can be somewhat nebulous, certain
government documents suggest that all critical minerals are indispensable for
the transition to a green economy.
The Canadian Critical Minerals Strategy, for instance, states, & ‘Simply put, there
is no energy transition without critical minerals,& ’emphasizing the increasing priority of ensuring the resilience of their supply chains for advanced economies. However, this assertion doesn’t hold true for all critical minerals. While some are indeed essential for the development of green energy technologies, they don’t collectively represent the entirety of the transition. The danger lies in presenting all critical minerals as transition minerals, thereby portraying critical mining projects as inherently ‘green’
The reality is more nuanced. Certain critical minerals, such as lithium and
cobalt, play a vital role in the production of batteries for electric vehicles and
energy storage. They are indisputably integral to the green energy sector.
However, not all critical minerals are directly linked to sustainable initiatives.
Extracting these minerals can pose significant environmental challenges,
including habitat disruption, pollution, and resource depletion.
