Tuesday 13 December 2022

The West agrees green EV mineral deal

Western nations including the US have agreed to buy the minerals needed for electric vehicles (EVs) from countries that have strong environmental standards.

The agreement was made at COP15 – and will see less investment from Western firms in China, which has held a domination over the EV market in recent years.

These green standards will be implemented for the purchase of minerals such as lithium, cobalt and nickel – all critical components in EV batteries.

Alongside the US, Canada, Australia, France, Germany, Japan and the UK agreed to the new regulations.

Canadian Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson commented: “Unless China and Russia are willing to put in place measures required to be able to legitimately say that they are supporting these kinds of standards then it would essentially mean we will be buying alternatives as we can.

“Obviously right now there are some critical minerals that are processed in large measure in China so this will be something that will need to happen over time.”

He explained that the alliance has not been formed to exclude China from the market, with hopes that it will eventually “join the alliance.”