| Title |
The global environmental costs of mining and processing abiotic raw materials and their geographic distribution |
| ID_Doc |
12201 |
| Authors |
Arendt, R; Bach, V; Finkbeiner, M |
| Title |
The global environmental costs of mining and processing abiotic raw materials and their geographic distribution |
| Year |
2022 |
| Published |
|
| DOI |
10.1016/j.jclepro.2022.132232 |
| Abstract |
The global demand for abiotic resources is rising, and continuous extraction has adverse effects on the environment. In this study, we quantify the total global environmental costs by monetizing the life cycle assessment results of mining and processing 38 abiotic materials. Results are shown in terms of material and affected country. We assess impacts covered by the ReCiPe impact assessment method, excluding impacts on freshwater and marine ecosystems and some crucial local and cultural impacts. Furthermore, we compare the environmental costs with the mining GDP for each country. The total environmental costs range from euro0.4 to euro5 trillion annually. We find that the highest absolute environmental costs can be attributed to the greenhouse gases, particulate matter emissions and acidification caused by coal and steel specifically. The countries with the highest absolute costs are China and India, because China extracts and processes large amounts of materials, while India carries a large share of the climate damages that global material production causes. The countries that have the most beneficial ratio of environmental costs per GDP are countries that process materials, such as Japan and Germany (steelmaking), and countries that mostly extract oil, as Algeria, Azerbaijan and Nigeria, because they largely externalize environmental costs of upstream and downstream processes. For materials that have a worse relationship between economic gains and environmental impact, or that have high down-stream impacts such as fossil energy carriers, circular economy, material efficiency and substitution strategies should be prioritized to reduce global environmental degradation. |
| Author Keywords |
External costs; LCA; Metals; Minerals; Extraction; Sustainability |
| Index Keywords |
Index Keywords |
| Document Type |
Other |
| Open Access |
Open Access |
| Source |
Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED) |
| EID |
WOS:000807777600005 |
| WoS Category |
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology; Engineering, Environmental; Environmental Sciences |
| Research Area |
Science & Technology - Other Topics; Engineering; Environmental Sciences & Ecology |
| PDF |
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