Energy Transition and Mining in the Global South

The energy transition has driven the rapid expansion of associated technologies, such as solar panels, wind turbines, and electric vehicles. Although promoted as clean and renewable, these technologies, due to their intrinsic characteristics, rely heavily on minerals for their manufacturing - many of which have recently been classified as critical. This article examines the impact of the significant increase in demand for these minerals. Using the International Renewable Energy Agency’s definition of critical minerals - which includes cobalt, nickel, copper, lithium, and rare earth elements - we conducted extensive data collection, systematization, and analysis on a global scale to identify the main producing countries and the contexts surrounding their extraction. The results reinforce a historical pattern in which most critical minerals for the energy transition originate from Global South nations, predominantly in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. In countries where environmental, social, and economic regulations are often more flexible, the profitability of large international corporations is favored. Furthermore, our findings reveal that, in many cases, the extraction of these minerals is linked to severe social, environmental, and economic impacts, ranging from extreme pollution and worker contamination by toxic metals to the financing of militias associated with authoritarian military regimes. These issues, often overlooked in dominant energy transition narratives, deserve greater attention and reflection from both the scientific community and society at large.