By Kai Pflug
In the Emission Database for Global Atmospheric Research, Afghanistan ranks number 102 in the list of countries by carbon dioxide emissions, accounting for only 0.03% of total global emissions – and if ranked by emissions per capita, the country slips even further down the ranks.
So, with regard to the energy transition – the decarbonization of global energy production in order to limit global warming – Afghanistan should be quite irrelevant, right?
Not quite, actually – and in a positive sense. Given the very limited role of Afghanistan in emitting carbon dioxide, the country is hardly part of the problem of global warming. But it can be part of the solution.
How that? The energy transition will require vast amounts of selected metals that are vital to make all the necessary changes – such as setting up wind and solar farms, electrifying cars, strengthening the electric grid, and storing electricity. And Afghanistan has vast resources of some of the most important minerals.
Take copper. A report by a consultancy, McKinsey, states that global electrification will increase annual copper demand to 36.6 million tons by 2031, compared to the current demand of roughly 25 million tons. And Afghanistan has one of the largest copper reserves of any country in the world, particularly the Aynak Copper Deposit, which is estimated to contain around 240 million tons metric tons of high-grade copper ore – one of the largest untapped copper deposits in the world.
Or take Lithium, a metal vital for powering electric cars and storing energy. According to a U.S. Geological Survey, Afghanistan has one of the world’s largest untapped lithium resources.
Utilizing all these resources to benefit the people of Afghanistan will not be easy. It will require stability and a qualified workforce as well as substantial investment. But the upside potential is huge. A report by the Brookings Institution estimated that if Afghanistan generates about $10 billion per year from its mineral deposits, its gross national product will double. The figure of $10 billion per year is not unrealistic given that other sources estimate that just 30% of the country’s mineral deposits are worth at least $1 trillion. For lithium, even a Pentagon memo states that Afghanistan could become the “Saudi Arabia of lithium” though other sources emphasize the costly utilization of lithium from the minerals to be found in Afghanistan.
In any case, despite the predominantly bad news we hear about Afghanistan, there is also hope – and that hope is not based on wishful thinking but on real-world facts. These facts also highlight the importance of a qualified Afghan workforce to turn Afghanistan’s resources into a source of wealth for the people. In the long run, StayIN’s initiatives aim to promote the establishment of such a workforce.
Photo by Michael Marais on Unsplash
Originally posted 2024-03-16 17:44:36.
