Oil and gas drilling, mining for minerals and quarrying for construction materials pose a major threat to more than 4,600 species across the globe, according to new research.
The study published in the peer-reviewed journal Current Biology this summer found that 8 percent of all vertebrate species face an ongoing threat from drilling and mining, which is critical for producing EV batteries and renewables. Species are at risk far away from the site of energy production, as it can unleash chemicals in waterways and lead to deforestation to build new infrastructure, the study said. The paper is one of the most thorough assessments of threats to biodiversity from mineral extraction, according to the researchers.
“We simply won’t be able to deliver the clean energy we need to reduce our climate impact without mining for the materials we need, and that creates a problem because we’re mining in locations that often have very high levels of biodiversity,” said David Edwards, a study co-author and professor in the University of Cambridge’s Department of Plant Sciences and Conservation Research Institute, in a statement.
The research found that fish are at particularly high risk from energy production. Areas in northern South America, West Africa and the Arctic also are “hotspots” where species face an elevated threat, especially in freshwater habitats.
