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BBC News
2 days ago
- Business
- BBC News
The rise of green tech is feeding another environmental crisis
Raquel Celina Rodriguez watches her step as she walks across the Vega de Tilopozo in Chile's Atacama salt flats. It's a wetland, known for its groundwater springs, but the plain is now dry and cracked with holes she explains were once pools."Before, the Vega was all green," she says. "You couldn't see the animals through the grass. Now everything is dry." She gestures to some grazing generations, her family raised sheep here. As the climate changed, and rain stopped falling, less grass made that much it worsened when "they" started taking the water, she explains. "They" are lithium companies. Beneath the salt flats of the Atacama Desert lie the world's largest reserves of lithium, a soft, silvery-white metal that is an essential component of the batteries that power electric cars, laptops and solar energy the world transitions to more renewable energy sources, the demand for it has soared. In 2021, about 95,000 tonnes of lithium was consumed globally - by 2024 it had more than doubled to 205,000 tonnes, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). By 2040 it's predicted to rise to more than 900,000 tonnes. Most of the increase will be driven by demand for electric car batteries, the IEA say environmental costs to them have risen this soaring demand has raised the question: is the world's race to decarbonise unintentionally stoking another environmental problem? Flora, flamingos and shrinking lagoons Chile is the second-largest producer of lithium globally after Australia. In 2023, the government launched a National Lithium Strategy to ramp up production through partly nationalising the industry and encouraging private finance minister previously said the increase in production could be by up to 70% by 2030, although the mining ministry says no target has been set. This year, a major milestone to that is set to be reached. A planned joint enterprise between SQM and Chile's state mining company Codelco has just secured regulatory approval for a quota to extract at least 2.5 million metric tonnes of lithium metal equivalent per year and boost production until government has framed the plans as part of the global fight against climate change and a source of state companies predominantly extract lithium by pumping brine from beneath Chile's salt flats to evaporation pools on the surface. The process extracts vast amounts of water in this already drought-prone region. Faviola Gonzalez is a biologist from the local indigenous community working in the Los Flamencos National Reserve, in the middle of the Atacama Desert, home to vast salt flats, marshes and lagoons and some 185 species of birds. She has monitored how the local environment is changing."The lagoons here are smaller now," she says. "We've seen a decrease in the reproduction of flamingos."She said lithium mining impacts microorganisms that birds feed on in these waters, so the whole food chain is points to a spot where, for the first time in 14 years, flamingo chicks hatched this year. She attributes the "small reproductive success" to a slight reduction in water extraction in 2021, but says, "It's small.""Before there were many. Now, only a few."The underground water from the Andes, rich in minerals, is "very old" and replenishes slowly."If we are extracting a lot of water and little is entering, there is little to recharge the Salar de Atacama," she explains. Damage to flora has also been found in some areas. On property in the salt flats, mined by the Chilean company SQM, almost one-third of the native "algarrobo" (or carob) trees had started dying as early as 2013 due to the impacts of mining, according to a report published in 2022 by the US-based National Resources Defense the issue extends beyond Chile too. In a report for the US-based National Resources Defense Council in 2022, James J. A. Blair, an assistant professor at California State Polytechnic University, wrote that lithium mining is "contributing to conditions of ecological exhaustion", and "may decrease freshwater availability for flora and fauna as well as humans".He did, however, say that it is difficult to find "definitive" evidence on this topic. Mitigating the damage Environmental damage is of course inevitable when it comes to mining. "It's hard to imagine any kind of mining that does not have a negative impact," says Karen Smith Stegen, a political science professor in Germany, who studies the impacts of lithium mining across the issue is that mining companies can take steps to mitigate that damage. "What [mining companies] should have done from the very beginning was to involve these communities," she example, before pumping lithium from underground, companies could carry out "social impact assessments" - reviews which take into account the broad impact their work will have on water, wildlife, and communities. For their part, mining companies now say they are listening. The Chilean firm SQM is one of the main one of their plants in Antofagasta, Valentín Barrera, Deputy Manager of Sustainability at SQM Lithium, says the firm is working closely with communities to "understand their concerns" and carrying out environmental impact feels strongly that in Chile and globally "we need more lithium for the energy transition."He adds that the firm is piloting new technologies. If successful, the idea is to roll these out in their Salar de Atacama include both extracting lithium directly from brine, without evaporation pools, and technologies to capture evaporated water and re-inject it into the land."We are doing several pilots to understand which one works better in order to increase production but reduce at least 50% of the current brine extraction," he said. He says the pilot in Antofagasta has recovered "more than one million cubic metres" of water. "Starting in 2031, we are going to start this transition."But the locals I spoke to are sceptical. "We believe the Salar de Atacama is like an experiment," Faviola says it's unknown how the salt flats could "resist" this new technology and the reinjection of water and fears they are being used as a "natural laboratory."Sara Plaza, whose family also raised animals in the same community as Raquel, is anxious about the changes she has seen in her lifetime. She remembers water levels dropping from as early as 2005 but says "the mining companies never stopped extracting." Sara becomes tearful when she speaks about the future."The salt flats produce lithium, but one day it will end. Mining will end. And what are the people here going to do? Without water, without agriculture. What are they going to live on?""Maybe I won't see it because of my age, but our children, our grandchildren will."She believes mining companies have extracted too much water from an ecosystem already struggling from climate change."It's very painful," she adds. "The companies give the community a little money, but I'd prefer no money. "I'd prefer to live off nature and have water to live." The impact of water shortages Sergio Cubillos is head of the association for the Peine community, where Sara and Raquel says Peine has been forced to change "our entire drinking water system, electrical system, water treatment system" because of water shortages."There is the issue of climate change, that it doesn't rain anymore, but the main impact has been caused by extractive mining," he says since it started in the 1980s, companies have extracted millions of cubic metres of water and brine – hundreds of litres per second."Decisions are made in Santiago, in the capital, very far from here," he says. He believes that if the President wants to fight climate change, like he said when he ran for office, he needs to involve "the indigenous people who have existed for millennia in these landscapes."Sergio understands that lithium is very important for transitioning to renewable energy but says his community should not be the "bargaining chip" in these community has secured some economic benefits and oversight with companies but is worried about plans to ramp up says while seeking technologies to reduce the impact on water is welcome that "can't be done sitting at a desk in Santiago, but rather here in the territory." Chile's government stresses there has been "ongoing dialogue with indigenous communities" and they have been consulted over the new Codelco-SQM joint venture's contracts to address concerns around water issues, new technologies and contributions to the says increasing production capacity will be based on incorporating new technologies to minimise the environmental and social impact and that the high "value" of lithium due to its role in the global energy transition could provide "opportunities" for the country's economic though worries about their area being a "pilot project" and says if the impact of new technology is negative, "We will put all our strength into stopping the activity that could end with Peine being forgotten." A small part of a global dilemma The Salar de Atacama is a case study for a global dilemma. Climate change is causing droughts and weather changes. But one of the world's current solutions is – according to locals – exacerbating is a common argument from people who support lithium mining: that even if it damages the environment, it brings huge benefits via jobs and Jimenez, from lithium consultancy iLiMarkets, in Santiago, takes this argument a step further. He claims that environmental damage has been exaggerated by communities who want a pay-out. "This is about money," he argues. "Companies have poured a lot of money into improving roads, schools – but the claims of communities really go back to the fact they want money."But Prof Stegen is unconvinced. "Mining companies always like to say, 'There are more jobs, you're going to get more money'," she says. "Well, that's not particularly what a lot of indigenous communities want. It actually can be disruptive if it changes the structure of their own traditional economy [and] it affects their housing costs."The jobs are not the be all and end all for what these communities want." In Chile, those I spoke to didn't talk about wanting more money. Nor are they opposed to measures to tackle climate change. Their main question is why they are paying the price."I think for the cities maybe lithium is good," Raquel says. "But it also harms us. We don't live the life we used to live here."Faviola does not think electrifying alone is the solution to climate change."We all must reduce our emissions," she says. "In developed countries like the US and Europe the energy expenditure of people is much greater than here in South America, among us indigenous people.""Who are the electric cars going to be for? Europeans, Americans, not us. Our carbon footprint is much smaller.""But it's our water that's being taken. Our sacred birds that are disappearing."Top image credit: Getty Images BBC InDepth is the home on the website and app for the best analysis, with fresh perspectives that challenge assumptions and deep reporting on the biggest issues of the day. And we showcase thought-provoking content from across BBC Sounds and iPlayer too. You can send us your feedback on the InDepth section by clicking on the button below.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Science
- Yahoo
See the baby solar system astronomers just spotted forming a planet for the first time
Outside our own solar system, the first moments of planet formation have never been detected, until now. Astronomers used the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) in Chile and Nasa's James Webb Space Telescope in orbit to observe the earliest moments when specks of dust began tumbling into what will become planets. New Images Released Of 'Interstellar Wanderer' Zooming Through Our Solar System The European Southern Observatory (ESO) said the images are of a "baby star" known as HOPS-315 located about 1,300 light-years from Earth. The images and findings were published in the journal Nature on Wednesday. Study co-author and Purdue University Professor Merel van 't Hoff compared the images to "a picture of the baby Solar System … seeing a system that looks like what our Solar System looked like when it was just beginning to form." According to ESO, the image above shows HOPS-315. The orange is carbon monoxide blowing away from the baby star. In blue, there is a jet of silicon monoxide, which will eventually become the solid material to form planets. Previously, astronomers have observed giant planets, like Jupiter, forming in the giant discs around young stars. According to the ESO, this discovery shows the first minerals condensing and growing in size and mass. Eventually, this process will form planets. The illustrations on the right of the above image show this process happening around baby star HOPS-315 as molecules of silicon monoxide condense into solid silicates. Largest Chunk Of Mars Discovered On Earth Sells At Auction For $5.3 Million The minerals were first identified by the James Webb Space Telescope and then the signals were pinpointed by ALMA. The ALMA image above shows the jets of silicon monoxide blowing away from the star. "For the first time, we have identified the earliest moment when planet formation is initiated around a star other than our Sun," Study lead author and Leiden University Professor Melissa McClure said. Astronomers say HOPS-315 can be used to understand how our own solar system article source: See the baby solar system astronomers just spotted forming a planet for the first time Solve the daily Crossword
The Guardian
4 days ago
- General
- The Guardian
Mining companies are pumping seawater into the driest place on Earth. But has the damage been done?
Vast pipelines cross the endless dunes of northern Chile, pumping seawater up to an altitude of more than 3,000 metres in the Andes mountains to the Escondida mine, the world's largest copper producer. The mine's owners say sourcing water directly from the sea, instead of relying on local reservoirs, could help preserve regional water resources. Yet, this is not the perception of Sergio Cubillos, leader of the Indigenous community Lickanantay de Peine. Cubillos and his fellow activists believe that the mining industry is helping to degrade the region's meagre water resources, as Chile continues to be ravaged by a mega-drought that has plagued the country for 15 years. They also fear that the use of desalinated seawater cannot make up for the devastation of the northern Atacama region's sensitive water ecosystem and local livelihoods. Water extraction has caused water table levels to drop, endangering springs, wetlands and surface water sources that support biodiversity and are vital for local crops and livestock. 'Several wetlands have dried up completely, and the vegetation has diminished considerably,' says Cubillos. The community of Peine lies within a salt flat, where a delicate ecological balance makes the region highly vulnerable to any changes in climate. Cubillos says mining has exacerbated the effects of the climate crisis, severely depleting the community's groundwater reserves. 'The mining activity has made the area unsuitable for cattle grazing.' The mega-drought is considered the most prolonged and widespread in a century, and the local population and mining companies are fighting for the right to water in the Atacama desert, the driest place on Earth, where the world's largest copper and lithium deposits are located. The lack of rainfall has had profound effects on Chile's water resources, agriculture and ecosystems and is severely depleting its freshwater reserves in the Atacama region. Even mining operations have occasionally been forced to stop due to water shortages. In December, Escondida's majority owner, the Australian mining firm BHP, the US-based Albemarle and Chilean firm Zaldívar were ordered to pay an unprecedented $47m fine (£34.5m) for depleting the Monturaqui-Negrillar-Tilopozo aquifer and damaging surrounding vegetation. The environmental court of Antofagasta ruled that the damage caused by the three companies 'negatively affects the Indigenous community of Peine, altering their systems of life and traditions'. It ruled that the companies had exceeded the legally permitted limits on groundwater extraction, resulting in a decline of the water table by more than 25cm – an unsustainable amount for the salt flat ecosystem, according to the court. Chile's water authority had already raised concerns in 2018 over Escondida's water extraction. In 2022 Escondida appealed an $8.4m fine for non-compliance over this issue, but it was rejected. The environmental court's decision came after a negotiated agreement between the Indigenous community, the Chilean government and the companies involved. The fines are earmarked for environmental remediation, which in some cases includes investment in desalination. The mining sector is increasingly turning to the sea. About 30% of the water used by Chile's mines now comes from seawater – desalinated or untreated – according to the national mining association. BHP says it has invested $4bn (£2.94bn) in desalination infrastructure in recent years. As a result, the company says, it ceased extracting water from the Peine wetland in 2019. Its desalination plant in the coastal city of Coloso, about 170km (105 miles) from the mine, is the largest in Chile by capacity. 'The company's first desalination plant opened in 2006, underscoring our pioneering role in the mining sector,' BHP says. Albemarle has also told the Guardian that it no longer uses groundwater from the reserve in its operations. 'While our company has never been a major water user in the area, this step is part of our long-term sustainability efforts on the Atacama salt flat,' the company's communications manager says. Albemarle has further clarified that the use of seawater to remediate environmental damage is not included in the formal agreement by the court, though its website highlights ongoing investments in desalination. Zaldívar has declined to comment. Sign up to Global Dispatch Get a different world view with a roundup of the best news, features and pictures, curated by our global development team after newsletter promotion Cubillos, who took part in the negotiations, acknowledges the shift. 'It's positive that companies have stopped exploiting groundwater reserves,' he says. 'However, the desalinated water does not reach our lands.' The three companies that the court found responsible for depleting Peine's groundwater produce roughly half of Chile's copper and a third of its lithium. Mining accounts for about a fifth of Chile's gross domestic product, and minerals – particularly copper and lithium, which are essential for the global green transition – are the country's main exports. Chile supplies about 13% of the copper and 80% of the lithium carbonate and refined lithium imported into the EU. Lithium is critical for electric vehicle batteries, while copper underpins most renewable energy technologies and infrastructure. The global green transition is projected to substantially increase demand for copper and lithium. For Chile, this implies escalating water requirements for mining operations. Despite advances in desalination, mining remains a major consumer of fresh water, accounting for about 50% of regional reserves in the north. Chile's ministry of mining projects that total consumption of water will go up by about 20% by 2034. Desalination and transporting seawater inland also come with environmental costs. These are energy-intensive processes, and studies forecast that CO2 emissions from Chile's desalination plants could reach up to about 700,000 tonnes of CO2 equivalent annually by 2030 – about the same as Antigua and Barbuda. Only a small share of these plants operate on renewable energy, according to Sebastián Herrera-León, an assistant professor at the University of O'Higgins. 'Currently, desalination plants in Chile are powered by the national grid, which draws from both fossil fuels and renewables,' he says. He identifies two ways forward: either desalination plants must integrate dedicated renewable energy sources, or the national energy grid must complete its transition to renewables. Desalination may also transfer environmental risks from the desert to the ocean. In Antofagasta, a coastal town in northern Chile near where Escondida's desalination plant and port are located, local fishers have already noticed changes. 'Fish populations are dying. Escondida's port has long polluted the sea, and the desalination plant makes things worse,' says fisher Nelson Fornerod Gutiérrez, 82. Marine biologist Elizabeth Soto of the NGO Terram says that brine discharge from desalination poses a threat to aquatic biodiversity. 'Improved spatial planning is essential for desalination plant siting. Constructing facilities along the entire coastline without accounting for environmental impacts is unsustainable,' she says. Mining companies own 17 of Chile's 24 operational desalination plants, with more planned along the Pacific coast. About 75% of the country's desalination capacity serves the mining sector. While desalinated seawater has eased pressure on dwindling inland sources, the Indigenous community of Peine remains wary. The damage may already be irreversible, they fear, damaging the salt flats and their waters, which are as vital as they are sacred to the Lickanantay people. 'We continue to resist mining companies,' says Cubillos, 'to assert that our Indigenous culture and worldview remain alive.'
The Guardian
5 days ago
- General
- The Guardian
Mining companies are pumping seawater into the driest place on Earth. But has the damage been done?
Vast pipelines cross the endless dunes of northern Chile, pumping seawater up to an altitude of more than 3,000 metres in the Andes mountains to the Escondida mine, the world's largest copper producer. The mine's owners say sourcing water directly from the sea, instead of relying on local reservoirs, could help preserve regional water resources. Yet, this is not the perception of Sergio Cubillos, leader of the Indigenous community Lickanantay de Peine. Cubillos and his fellow activists believe that the mining industry is helping to degrade the region's meagre water resources, as Chile continues to be ravaged by a mega-drought that has plagued the country for 15 years. They also fear that the use of desalinated seawater cannot make up for the devastation of the northern Atacama region's sensitive water ecosystem and local livelihoods. Water extraction has caused water table levels to drop, endangering springs, wetlands and surface water sources that support biodiversity and are vital for local crops and livestock. 'Several wetlands have dried up completely, and the vegetation has diminished considerably,' says Cubillos. The community of Peine lies within a salt flat, where a delicate ecological balance makes the region highly vulnerable to any changes in climate. Cubillos says mining has exacerbated the effects of the climate crisis, severely depleting the community's groundwater reserves. 'The mining activity has made the area unsuitable for cattle grazing.' The mega-drought is considered the most prolonged and widespread in a century, and the local population and mining companies are fighting for the right to water in the Atacama desert, the driest place on Earth, where the world's largest copper and lithium deposits are located. The lack of rainfall has had profound effects on Chile's water resources, agriculture and ecosystems and is severely depleting its freshwater reserves in the Atacama region. Even mining operations have occasionally been forced to stop due to water shortages. In December, Escondida's majority owner, the Australian mining firm BHP, the US-based Albemarle and Chilean firm Zaldívar were ordered to pay an unprecedented $47m fine (£34.5m) for depleting the Monturaqui-Negrillar-Tilopozo aquifer and damaging surrounding vegetation. The environmental court of Antofagasta ruled that the damage caused by the three companies 'negatively affects the Indigenous community of Peine, altering their systems of life and traditions'. It ruled that the companies had exceeded the legally permitted limits on groundwater extraction, resulting in a decline of the water table by more than 25cm – an unsustainable amount for the salt flat ecosystem, according to the court. Chile's water authority had already raised concerns in 2018 over Escondida's water extraction. In 2022 Escondida appealed an $8.4m fine for non-compliance over this issue, but it was rejected. The environmental court's decision came after a negotiated agreement between the Indigenous community, the Chilean government and the companies involved. The fines are earmarked for environmental remediation, which in some cases includes investment in desalination. The mining sector is increasingly turning to the sea. About 30% of the water used by Chile's mines now comes from seawater – desalinated or untreated – according to the national mining association. BHP says it has invested $4bn (£2.94bn) in desalination infrastructure in recent years. As a result, the company says, it ceased extracting water from the Peine wetland in 2019. Its desalination plant in the coastal city of Coloso, about 170km (105 miles) from the mine, is the largest in Chile by capacity. 'The company's first desalination plant opened in 2006, underscoring our pioneering role in the mining sector,' BHP says. Albemarle has also told the Guardian that it no longer uses groundwater from the reserve in its operations. 'While our company has never been a major water user in the area, this step is part of our long-term sustainability efforts on the Atacama salt flat,' the company's communications manager says. Albemarle has further clarified that the use of seawater to remediate environmental damage is not included in the formal agreement by the court, though its website highlights ongoing investments in desalination. Zaldívar has declined to comment. Sign up to Global Dispatch Get a different world view with a roundup of the best news, features and pictures, curated by our global development team after newsletter promotion Cubillos, who took part in the negotiations, acknowledges the shift. 'It's positive that companies have stopped exploiting groundwater reserves,' he says. 'However, the desalinated water does not reach our lands.' The three companies that the court found responsible for depleting Peine's groundwater produce roughly half of Chile's copper and a third of its lithium. Mining accounts for about a fifth of Chile's gross domestic product, and minerals – particularly copper and lithium, which are essential for the global green transition – are the country's main exports. Chile supplies about 13% of the copper and 80% of the lithium carbonate and refined lithium imported into the EU. Lithium is critical for electric vehicle batteries, while copper underpins most renewable energy technologies and infrastructure. The global green transition is projected to substantially increase demand for copper and lithium. For Chile, this implies escalating water requirements for mining operations. Despite advances in desalination, mining remains a major consumer of fresh water, accounting for about 50% of regional reserves in the north. Chile's ministry of mining projects that total consumption of water will go up by about 20% by 2034. Desalination and transporting seawater inland also come with environmental costs. These are energy-intensive processes, and studies forecast that CO2 emissions from Chile's desalination plants could reach up to about 700,000 tonnes of CO2 equivalent annually by 2030 – about the same as Antigua and Barbuda. Only a small share of these plants operate on renewable energy, according to Sebastián Herrera-León, an assistant professor at the University of O'Higgins. 'Currently, desalination plants in Chile are powered by the national grid, which draws from both fossil fuels and renewables,' he says. He identifies two ways forward: either desalination plants must integrate dedicated renewable energy sources, or the national energy grid must complete its transition to renewables. Desalination may also transfer environmental risks from the desert to the ocean. In Antofagasta, a coastal town in northern Chile near where Escondida's desalination plant and port are located, local fishers have already noticed changes. 'Fish populations are dying. Escondida's port has long polluted the sea, and the desalination plant makes things worse,' says fisher Nelson Fornedod Gutiérrez, 82. Marine biologist Elizabeth Soto of the NGO Terram says that brine discharge from desalination poses a threat to aquatic biodiversity. 'Improved spatial planning is essential for desalination plant siting. Constructing facilities along the entire coastline without accounting for environmental impacts is unsustainable,' she says. Mining companies own 17 of Chile's 24 operational desalination plants, with more planned along the Pacific coast. About 75% of the country's desalination capacity serves the mining sector. While desalinated seawater has eased pressure on dwindling inland sources, the Indigenous community of Peine remains wary. The damage may already be irreversible, they fear, damaging the salt flats and their waters, which are as vital as they are sacred to the Lickanantay people. 'We continue to resist mining companies,' says Cubillos, 'to assert that our Indigenous culture and worldview remain alive.'
Reuters
6 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
Indigenous groups ask Chile court to pause community review of Codelco-SQM lithium deal
SANTIAGO, July 15 (Reuters) - Two Indigenous groups in northern Chile have asked a local court to suspend a state-led community review process that is required for a lithium partnership between copper giant Codelco and lithium miner SQM ( opens new tab, according to legal documents reviewed by Reuters. The Indigenous community of Coyo and the Atacameno Association of Irrigators and Farmers of San Pedro de Atacama each independently filed legal challenges last week with a Chilean appeals court in the Antofagasta region, accusing Chilean economic development agency Corfo of not properly carrying out a consultation process to seek their input on the partnership. The process is one of the final conditions for a deal to go into effect in which state-run Codelco will take a majority stake in SQM's lithium mining operations in the Atacama salt flat. The Coyo community and the Atacameno Association of Irrigators and Farmers, which has Indigenous members, said they needed more information and time to be able to provide informed consent on the plan. The Antofagasta court on Friday accepted their challenges, according to a court document. It ordered Corfo to respond to the allegations within 15 days, and asked Codelco and SQM to provide comments. Corfo told Reuters that the consultation process was still in progress. "The Indigenous consultation process with the Atacama Indigenous organizations is moving forward and has been carried out in accordance with the regulations," the agency said in a statement. Codelco declined to comment, while SQM did not immediately reply to a request for comment. The Indigenous consultation, which was led by Corfo and included a few dozen community groups located around the Atacama salt flat, was due to conclude around late July. SQM and Codelco are separately holding talks with communities near the salt flat to discuss a model for Indigenous oversight over lithium extraction. The Coyo community and Atacameno Association of Irrigators and Farmers both asked the court to suspend the process until a new methodology for the community review could be implemented, and more information provided. Both groups said Corfo had not provided enough detail about the proposed contract between Codelco and SQM and argued that the consultation's timeline between November 2024 and July 2025 was too fast to allow for detailed analysis. They also said Corfo at several points did not act in good faith, and did not meet the standards set out by the International Labour Organization, a U.N. agency. "This situation directly affects the fundamental rights of the Community by limiting its influence over decisions that impact its territory, environmental surroundings, and collective rights, thereby violating constitutional guarantees," the Coyo community said in its court filing.
