Carbon emissions from clearing forests for nickel mining are 500 times higher than what corporations are reporting.
The global shift to electric vehicles depends on a massive supply of nickel for high-performance batteries. Companies claim these materials are green, but the destruction of vegetation releases an enormous amount of stored CO2. This environmental cost is almost entirely ignored in current sustainability data and climate transition plans. If the real numbers were included, the carbon footprint of an EV battery would look significantly worse. The very industry meant to save the planet is hiding a massive ecological debt.
Biomass carbon emissions from nickel mining have significant implications for climate action
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Abstract Global nickel demand is projected to double by 2050 to support low-carbon technologies and renewable energy production. However, biomass carbon emissions from clearing vegetation for nickel mining are rarely included in corporate sustainability reports or considered in sourcing decisions. Here, we compiled new data for 481 nickel mines and undeveloped deposits to show that the footprint of nickel mining is approximately 5 to 500 times greater than previously reported (depending on the m