Mining lithium for electric cars comes up short to solve the climate crisis, highlighting the need for walkability and micromobility

Governments and car manufacturers are touting electric vehicles (EVs) as the wonder antidote to climate change. However, EVs will need abundant mined lithium, a key component of EV batteries. A recent report by the Climate and Community Project at the University of California, Davis, “Achieving Zero Emissions with More Mobility and Less Mining,” calls into question whether mining lithium will be able to meet the urgent need to address climate change. The report challenges the hope that lithium mined in large quantities can steer America clear of structural changes to the built landscape, confirming the suspicions of new urbanists. 


Lithium is an essential component of car batteries, and there is presently no replacement for it. It is mined from both hard rock and from below-ground brine. Both require significant landscape disturbance either from open-pit mines or from large evaporation ponds. Lawsuits by indigenous peoples and environmentalists is a given. Although research continues in pursuit of a cheaper and more easily mined substitute, time is of the essence in the work to avoid climate disaster.


On February 27, Steve Price, co-founder of El Cerrito Strollers and Rollers, published an article on the topic in StreetsBlog USA, “Opinion: Electric Cars Shouldn’t Distract Us From Building a More Walkable World.”


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