The Ethics of Rare Earth Elements Over Time and Space
Abigail Martin, Alastair Iles
Abstract
Rare earths are a critical resource for contemporary societies. Among their diverse uses, they are key components of sustainability technologies such as wind turbines and electric vehicles. While rare earths can help societies transition away from fossil fuels to renewable energy and conserve energy, their extraction, processing, and use creates serious environmental and social effects around the world, especially in China. We argue that environmental justice and intergenerational justice concepts can provide an ethical framework for navigating this green energy bargain. We survey the environmental and social effects that rare earth production causes and the changing geography of production that means these effects are being distributed worldwide, both in and beyond China. Finally, we consider several strategies that miners, manufacturers, designers, and users can use to achieve greater environmental justice and intergenerational justice, now and for the future.