Critical Minerals Power Green Transition but Deepen Water Insecurity and Health Risks in Vulnerable Communities

UNU-INWEH’s 2026 report shows that expanding extraction of lithium, cobalt, nickel and rare-earths for batteries, EVs and AI hardware is causing acute water shortages, toxic waste, and health emergencies in mining regions of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Chile, Argentina, Bolivia and Indonesia.

The Guardian

IEA data record a 30 % rise in lithium demand in 2024 and a near-tripling of rare-earth output since 2010. In 2024, 240 000 t of lithium required about 456 billion L of water—enough for 62 million sub-Saharan Africans. Chile’s Salar de Atacama sees lithium mining consume up to 65 % of regional water. Global rare-earth production generated roughly 707 million t of toxic waste, enough to fill 59 million garbage trucks. In the DRC’s Lualaba province, 72 % of residents near cobalt mines report skin disease and 56 % of women experience gynecological problems. About 16 % of critical-mineral reserves lie in high-water-stress zones; 54 % sit on Indigenous lands.

UN Scientists Warn: The Rush for Critical Minerals Mirrors Oil Extraction

Water scarcity and pollution undermine the claimed sustainability of the energy transition, threaten food security in the lithium triangle, and exacerbate global inequities. While wealthier nations benefit from lower emissions, affected communities face poverty, health crises and loss of livelihoods.

UN Scientists Warn: The Rush for Critical Minerals Mirrors Oil Extraction

UNU-INWEH Director Kaveh Madani warned that “the transition cannot be called green…if it simply moves environmental harm from the rich to the poor.” Lead author Abraham Nunbogu highlighted forced migration and loss of basic water services. Indonesia has banned raw-material exports such as nickel ore, and anti-mining protests have intensified in Latin America.

The Guardian

Political scientist Thea Riofrancos notes a rise in “more frequent and more militant” anti-mining protests worldwide. Indigenous groups in the Andes and the DRC demand stronger safeguards and fair benefit-sharing.

Rush for Critical Minerals Echoes Oil Extraction Injustice as Harms Fall on World's Most Vulnerable, UN Scientists Warn

Waste estimates vary slightly—some sources cite 700 million t of rare-earth waste, others 707 million t. Comprehensive longitudinal health data for exposed populations remain scarce.

UN Scientists Warn: The Rush for Critical Minerals Mirrors Oil Extraction

• “Critical minerals are quickly becoming the oil of the 21st century,” — Kaveh Madani, Director, UNU-INWEH

The Guardian

• “Some communities struggle on, walking more than a mile to collect water, while others are being forced to abandon their homes for urban areas, driving them further into poverty,” — Abraham Nunbogu, Lead author, UNU-INWEH

The Guardian

• “We have seen anti-mining protests becoming more frequent and more militant around the world over the past two decades,” — Thea Riofrancos, Political Scientist, Providence College

The Guardian

• “You cannot call a transition green, sustainable, and just if it simply moves the environmental harm from the rich to the poor, and from one group of people or region to another.” — Kaveh Madani, Director, UNU-INWEH

Rush for Critical Minerals Echoes Oil Extraction Injustice as Harms Fall on World's Most Vulnerable, UN Scientists Warn

The report urges binding international due-diligence standards, mandatory waste-water treatment, independent water-use monitoring and greater Indigenous participation. Upcoming UN climate talks are expected to address these measures.

The Conversation