The Sconi

As governments embrace cleaner forms of emission, prices for metals such as copper, cobalt, nickel and lithium will soar, according to research by the International Monetary Fund, the Globe Banner reported.

“Prices could reach historical peaks for an unprecedented length of time – and even delay the energy transition itself,” the IMF report said, according to the Globe Banner.

How the shift will affect Wisconsinites is murky. Wisconsin is a state that has not made a huge push for renewable portfolio standards (RPS) that seek to implement renewable energy as a source of electricity. 

Those policies will “drive the nation’s $64 billion market for wind, solar and other renewable energy sources,” according to the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL).

Wisconsin does not have current RPS goals, but the state's previous goal — which expired in 2015 — was to reach 15% of energy generated from renewables by 2015. The state's expired policy also aimed to prevent utilities from decreasing its renewable energy percentage below 2010 levels and were not allowed to decrease again following 2015.

With a lesser focus on going green, when compared with other states, utility costs will be less affected by the rising cost of raw materials.

In terms of costs, the IMF predicted that a metric ton of lithium could increase to $15,000 by the end of the decade from the current $6,000. Prices are expected to remain at the higher level through the 2030s, the story said. A "Metal Price Scenario" shows increased prices as governments adopted net-zero emissions by 2040, the story said.

Companies that export the key metals would benefit substantially, according to the IMF, which hinted that global mandates to use the metals could “play a key role in data dissemination and analysis, setting industry standards, and fostering global cooperation,” the story said.

The withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan might open the doors for China tap into the region's mineral reserves, estimated to be valued as high as $3 trillion, the Globe Banner previously reported, citing a report from the Institute for Energy Research.

The Afghan region is rich in lithium, used for electric car batteries, the story said. The region, known as the "Saudi Arabia of lithium" already produces 30% of the world's supply of lithium, it said.

“The chaos may offer China, which dominates the world market for rare earths widely used in technology, to step in to develop the mineral reserves, which also include lithium, used in the manufacture of batteries,” MarketWatch said, according to the Globe Banner.

At a recent global climate conference, the United States and China agreed to cooperate n limiting emissions, NPR reported.

The United States and China — the world's top two greenhouse gas-emitting countries, which together account for about 40% of the world's annual carbon output — announced recently that they have agreed to cooperate on limiting emissions to address the global climate crisis.

Under the agreement, the countries will reduce emissions based on the goals set in the 2015 Paris Agreement, which aims to keep the rise in global temperature at 1.5 degrees Celsius or 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit, the story said.

However, China recently increased operations at its coal mines, CNN reported, according to the Globe Banner. The increase was designed to stop rolling power blackouts, the story said.

Chinese dominance in the solar supply chain is a threat to the independence of the U.S., a study by the Coalition for Prosperous America said, according to the Globe Banner. 

Meanwhile, some states in the U.S. have adopted renewable portfolio standards (RPS) requiring renewable energy to be used in the production of electricity. 

Wisconsin for example, had a goal of 15% renewable energy before its RPS goal expired, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.