Global Copper Demand Surges Amid Green Energy Transition

The global energy landscape is undergoing a transformative shift driven by advances in clean energy technologies and electrification, with significant implications for sustainability and market dynamics. The Greenhouse Gas Protocol is revising its standards on how companies measure electricity-related emissions, a move that could reshape renewable energy investments and corporate sustainability claims, as tech giants like Google, Microsoft, Meta, and Amazon compete to power AI operations sustainably. Copper demand is soaring due to the green energy transition, electric vehicles, and AI infrastructure, with projected supply deficits threatening to impede decarbonization and innovation efforts globally. Emerging clean energy technologies such as perovskite solar cells, floating solar farms, solar windows, vertical-axis wind turbines, and offshore floating turbines are expanding the potential for renewable energy integration into daily life and urban environments. A report by Ember highlights the efficiency of electrotechnologies—solar, wind, electric vehicles, and heat pumps—that are significantly more efficient than fossil fuels and capable of drastically reducing fossil fuel imports, signaling a revolution akin to the IT transformation. Together, these developments underline a profound shift towards cleaner, more efficient energy systems that promise to reshape economic and environmental futures.