Selected social impact indicators influenced by materials for green energy technologies
Abstract The social risks of green energy transition are underexplored. One of the important questions is which materials used in green energy technologies offer the greatest social benefits, such as ensuring decent living conditions, and which pose the most social risks. To address this issue, we d...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Nature Portfolio
2024-10-01
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| Series: | Nature Communications |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-53652-0 |
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| author | Saeed Rahimpour Mohammad El-Wali Iryna Makarava Hanna L. Tuomisto Mari Lundström Andrzej Kraslawski |
| author_facet | Saeed Rahimpour Mohammad El-Wali Iryna Makarava Hanna L. Tuomisto Mari Lundström Andrzej Kraslawski |
| author_sort | Saeed Rahimpour |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract The social risks of green energy transition are underexplored. One of the important questions is which materials used in green energy technologies offer the greatest social benefits, such as ensuring decent living conditions, and which pose the most social risks. To address this issue, we develop a dynamic material-energy flow model integrating system dynamics, social life cycle assessment, and geometallurgical approaches. The analysis focuses on critical materials: Rare Earth Elements, Nickel, Silicon, Graphite, Magnesium, Gallium, Germanium, Indium, Aluminum, Cobalt, Lithium, Zinc, and Tellurium used in wind turbines, electric vehicles, lithium-ion batteries and solar photovoltaic panels. We assess their social impact on work safety, gender equality, informal employment, labor income share, employment rate, and child labor—key issues addressed by Sustainable Development Goals 1, 5, and 8. Here we show that Aluminum production for electric vehicles, wind turbines and solar photovoltaic panels generates the most jobs and income opportunities, while extraction of Cobalt, Lithium, Silicon, and Zinc carry the highest social risks. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-c07dcbc7154149d6aa87f1e0e99d6e0b |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2041-1723 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-10-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Nature Communications |
| spelling | doaj-art-c07dcbc7154149d6aa87f1e0e99d6e0b2025-01-19T12:29:31ZengNature PortfolioNature Communications2041-17232024-10-0115111310.1038/s41467-024-53652-0Selected social impact indicators influenced by materials for green energy technologiesSaeed Rahimpour0Mohammad El-Wali1Iryna Makarava2Hanna L. Tuomisto3Mari Lundström4Andrzej Kraslawski5Hydrometallurgy and Corrosion, Circular Raw Materials Hub, Department of Chemical and Metallurgical Engineering (CMET), School of Chemical Engineering, Aalto UniversityDepartment of Agricultural Sciences, University of HelsinkiHydrometallurgy and Corrosion, Circular Raw Materials Hub, Department of Chemical and Metallurgical Engineering (CMET), School of Chemical Engineering, Aalto UniversityDepartment of Agricultural Sciences, University of HelsinkiHydrometallurgy and Corrosion, Circular Raw Materials Hub, Department of Chemical and Metallurgical Engineering (CMET), School of Chemical Engineering, Aalto UniversitySchool of Engineering Science, Industrial Engineering and Management (IEM), LUT UniversityAbstract The social risks of green energy transition are underexplored. One of the important questions is which materials used in green energy technologies offer the greatest social benefits, such as ensuring decent living conditions, and which pose the most social risks. To address this issue, we develop a dynamic material-energy flow model integrating system dynamics, social life cycle assessment, and geometallurgical approaches. The analysis focuses on critical materials: Rare Earth Elements, Nickel, Silicon, Graphite, Magnesium, Gallium, Germanium, Indium, Aluminum, Cobalt, Lithium, Zinc, and Tellurium used in wind turbines, electric vehicles, lithium-ion batteries and solar photovoltaic panels. We assess their social impact on work safety, gender equality, informal employment, labor income share, employment rate, and child labor—key issues addressed by Sustainable Development Goals 1, 5, and 8. Here we show that Aluminum production for electric vehicles, wind turbines and solar photovoltaic panels generates the most jobs and income opportunities, while extraction of Cobalt, Lithium, Silicon, and Zinc carry the highest social risks.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-53652-0 |
| spellingShingle | Saeed Rahimpour Mohammad El-Wali Iryna Makarava Hanna L. Tuomisto Mari Lundström Andrzej Kraslawski Selected social impact indicators influenced by materials for green energy technologies Nature Communications |
| title | Selected social impact indicators influenced by materials for green energy technologies |
| title_full | Selected social impact indicators influenced by materials for green energy technologies |
| title_fullStr | Selected social impact indicators influenced by materials for green energy technologies |
| title_full_unstemmed | Selected social impact indicators influenced by materials for green energy technologies |
| title_short | Selected social impact indicators influenced by materials for green energy technologies |
| title_sort | selected social impact indicators influenced by materials for green energy technologies |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-53652-0 |
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