Presentations:

The Potential Environmental and Societal Impacts of Critical Minerals Extraction 
by Avner Vengosh
Distinguished Professor and Nicholas Chair of Environmental Quality at the Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University

Geothermal Energy and Social Acceptance
by Masami Nakagawa
Retired professor from Colorado School of Mines and Kyushu University

Discussants:

Tomoko Ishikawa
Professor, Graduate School of International Development, Nagoya University

Floriano Filho
University of Sao Paulo / Brazilian Senate

Jordi C. Cravioto
Program-specific Assistant Professor, Institute of Advanced Energy, Kyoto University

Co-chair:

Isamu Okada
Professor, Department of International Development and Cooperation, Graduate School of International Development, Nagoya University

Julie de los Reyes
Program-specific Assistant Professor, Center for Southeast Asian Studies and Hakubi Center for Advanced Research, Kyoto University

Abstracts:

The Potential Environmental and Societal Impacts of Critical Minerals Extraction 
by Avner Vengosh

With increasing global demand for sustainable and low carbon energy, demands for critical raw materials have increased to support new technologies and infrastructure. Lithium is playing a central role in this green energy transition, primarily for use in lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles and grid storage. This demand has spurred global exploration for lithium resources to meet projected deficits in lithium production and to develop a diverse global network of mining and production. Lithium is produced from lithium-rich hard-rock pegmatites and from continental closed basin brines. While pegmatite deposits are common and found globally, lithium-rich brine deposits are restricted to a few regions such as the Lithium Triangle in South America that includes large salt lakes in Chile (Salar Atacama), Bolivia (Salar de Uyuni) and Argentina. These deposits are in the high altitude and arid conditions of the high desert Andes Mountains. The common lithium extraction is via pumping of subsurface brines, evaporation in ponds to further concentrate lithium, and production of lithium carbonate in associated plants. While large-scale lithium development holds potential economic opportunities for the local Indigenous communities, it also has potential negative environmental and societal impacts. Water is highly scare in the arid regions of the high desert Andes Mountains, and large-scale water pumping for processing the lithium extraction, as well as pumping of the subsurface brines can cause a decline of water availability. It is already suggested that the basin in Salar Atacama in Chile is sinking because of overpumping of the subsurface brines for lithium extraction. A Duke University study in the Salar de Uyuni in Bolivia indicates that the evaporated brines used for lithium extraction contain high concentrations of toxic arsenic, which could limit the ability to return the residual brines to the natural environment. The study also indicates that most of the water resources used for drinking water for the Indigenous communities in the Salar de Uyuni region is based in shallow groundwater and springs that are vulnerable to changes in the hydrological balance. Overuse of groundwater in the region would inevitably cause groundwater level decline and elimination of the water supplies that are critical for the local Indigenous communities. The lithium extraction is critical for securing the global green transition, and yet, without securing the potential environmental and societal impacts, this transition might be impaired.

Geothermal Energy and Social Acceptance
by Masami Nakagawa

It’s evident that human activities significantly contribute to the rising levels of CO2 emissions, marking decarbonization as a key topic of discussion over the past decade. While much attention has been placed on technical mitigation methods, the role of community responsibility has often been overlooked. The established cause-effect relationship between fossil fuel usage and increased CO2 emissions is clear; however, the drivers behind our reliance on fossil fuels are complex and multifaceted. Encouraging decarbonization requires diverse strategies, and a unifying element across these strategies is the education of individuals, communities, and other stakeholders. In this presentation, I will share my experiences in advocating for geothermal energy across various stakeholder groups. Geothermal energy is a unique area of natural resource development. It involves extracting hot water from underground (resulting in an irreversible resource extraction) to generate electricity or heat/cool buildings. Initially, geothermal energy wasn’t seen as a renewable resource until the practice of reinjecting used (cold) water back into the reservoir was adopted. This technology’s CO2 emissions are merely a fraction of those from conventional electricity generation methods, with the exception of nuclear fission. As I embarked on geothermal projects, I was surprised by the general lack of awareness about geothermal energy. As people’s understanding grew, they began to raise valid concerns about the environmental and community impacts. The more educated the communities became, the more stringent and challenging the development of geothermal resources turned out to be. This increased awareness about natural resource development through education forced the adoption of more transparent approaches. I will present lessons learned from a small mountain community in Colorado that was heavily exploited during the mining boom of the late 1800s. I will share how we achieved social acceptance. Geothermal energy is, essentially, a form of “heat mining” that can significantly contribute to decarbonization.