Spain can quickly develop renewable power, however the examine exhibits that is solely sustainable if general materials and power demand is diminished
Spain’s transition to a low‑carbon economic system requires increasing renewable applied sciences similar to wind, photo voltaic, and electrical automobiles. These applied sciences rely on particular supplies, and demand for supplies, similar to cobalt, lithium, and nickel, already represents a big share of Spain’s whole use.
The researchers analysed how a lot supplies Spain would want as much as 2050 beneath completely different decarbonisation pathways. They enhanced the MEDEAS‑Spain mannequin by including sector‑particular materials intensities, bettering the monitoring of fabric shares and flows, and increasing protection to greater than forty supplies, a complete evaluation of the fabric necessities of decarbonisation.
They evaluated three eventualities: Spain’s official power and local weather plan (PNIEC‑LTDS), a state of affairs the place financial demand stops rising after 2025 (CappedEcon), and a Sufficiency state of affairs the place consumption is diminished in a sectorally express method to ranges in step with respectable residing requirements.
Whereas low-carbon applied sciences require massive portions of supplies, most materials demand comes from wider (unrelated to decarbonisation) financial actions. Consequently, and as proven within the determine under, the PNIEC-LTDS, which contains a excessive stage of financial progress, will increase the fabric footprint by 51% between 2025 and 2050. In distinction, the Sufficiency state of affairs reduces the fabric footprint by over 50% whereas lowering greenhouse fuel emissions by 93%.
The examine concludes {that a} fast enlargement of renewable power is just environmentally sustainable if general materials and power demand is diminished. Inexperienced‑progress pathways sharply improve materials use, whereas sufficiency‑based mostly submit‑progress approaches allow deep decarbonisation with far decrease useful resource stress. In the end, consumption ranges decide the sustainability of the transition.
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