It’s an industry key to the future of clean energy but there are rising fears that it could turn into a powerful cartel.The World Economic Forum , a public-private sector cooperative think-tank, says growing international fears of a new metals “OPEC” cartel are overblown.
What’s different is their fuel source – electricity – is no longer controlled by a few companies or nations.depends on suppliers – such as the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries – releasing crude oil and gas to be processed by multinational refineries before being distributed across the globe.
But the WEF believes minerals and oil are very different beasts: “The energy transition will create rising dependencies on critical minerals. However, a comparison with the oil industry shows that we should be diligent rather than alarmed.”And it began using this control for coercive purposes as early as 2010 after a Chinese fishing militia captain was arrested by the Japanese Coast Guard for breaching territorial waters around the disputed Senkaku Islands.
For example, the world is dependent on 100 million barrels of oil being delivered each day. And an average passenger vehicle consumes petrol at 11.1 litres per 100km. The US and Australia have introduced new incentives to expand critical minerals productions while emphasising terms like “friendshoring” – where deliveries are less likely to be interrupted by tariffs or blockade.