Selected social impact indicators influenced by materials for green energy technologies

• Published in: Nature communications Vol. 15; no. 1; pp. 9336 - 13
• Main Authors: Rahimpour, Saeed, El-Wali, Mohammad, Makarava, Iryna, Tuomisto, Hanna L., Lundström, Mari, Kraslawski, Andrzej
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 29.10.2024; Nature Publishing Group; Nature Portfolio
• Subjects: 639/301/299; 639/4077/909; 704/844/685; Alternative energy; Aluminum; Child labor; Clean energy; Cobalt; Electric vehicles; Employment; Energy flow; Energy technology; Gallium; Germanium; Green energy; Humanities and Social Sciences; Labor; Life cycle analysis; Life cycle assessment; Lithium; Lithium-ion batteries; Living conditions; Magnesium; multidisciplinary; Nickel; Occupational safety; Panels; Photovoltaics; Rare earth elements; Renewable energy; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); Silicon; Social impact; Sustainable development; System dynamics; Tellurium; Turbines; Wind power; Wind turbines; Working conditions; Zinc

The social risks of green energy transition are underexplored. One of the important questions is which materials used in green energy technologies offer the greatest social benefits, such as ensuring decent living conditions, and which pose the most social risks. To address this issue, we develop a...