US faces soaring need for critical minerals dominated by China, IEA says

Global demand for critical minerals is set to spike sharply to support more clean energy, and the United States and other countries must grapple with stabilizing a supply that is currently dominated by China, the International Energy Agency says.

The world’s appetite for critical minerals for clean energy could expand by as much as six times by 2040 as governments strive to reach net-zero emissions by midcentury, the IEA said in a new report Wednesday. In a scenario where governments meet the Paris climate agreement’s less ambitious target to keep warming below 2 degrees Celsius, demand for those minerals for clean energy technologies would quadruple by 2040.