Widespread electrification is crucial to combatting the climate crisis. As part of decarbonising transport, electric vehicles (EVs) are being rapidly deployed as a critical technological solution. The mineral extraction feeding EV battery production can, however, cause serious harm to local people and ecosystems, a topic often left out of the energy transition discourse. This seminar explores the interconnection between EVs and the natural world, and why decarbonization is increasingly putting climate action and biodiversity protection at odds with each other. Shyam Sharma shares the models he has developed for anticipating and articulating the impact of mining for battery minerals (such as lithium, nickel, and cobalt) on threatened and endemic species around the world. This research is the result of several years of work, which began during Shyam’s time as an Environmental Technology MSc student in the CEP (2021-2022), where he was mentored by the late Professor Mumford. In this seminar, Shyam also emphasises the need to move beyond perceived silver bullet solutions to having a deeper understanding of the complex issues surrounding the energy transition. His research argues that we must instead adopt a holistic, systems-level perspective that does justice to the many environmental and social concerns that must be addressed if responsible decarbonization is to be achieved.

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