E+Wood Mackenzie predicts that a shift to renewable energy sources will lead to a rise in base metal demand in the next few years. According to an energy consultancy report, analysts said that governments must fulfill their commitments to reduce global warming. This will lead to a rise in demand for non-ferrous metals. Wood Mackenzie named three metals as commodities to be on the lookout for: zinc, copper, and aluminum.The authors of the report outlined three scenarios for metals. Each scenario would depend on whether international efforts to reduce global warming are successful. The Paris Agreement, a landmark 2015 agreement signed by 196 nations, established a framework for preventing global temperatures rising by more than 2 degrees Celsius. However, the treaty does not aim to prevent global warming exceeding 1.5 degrees Celsius.AluminiumWood Mackenzie's base scenario assumes that temperatures will have risen by between 2.8 and 3 degrees Celsius since pre-industrial times by the end. This scenario would see aluminum demand from solar power sectors rise from 2.4 millions tons in 2020 to 4.65 million tons by 2040. Kamil Wlazly from Wood Mackenzie, a senior analyst, stated that aluminum is commonly used in solar panel frames as well as their structural parts.Analysts stated that if the global temperature increase was maintained between 1.5 and 2, it would mean that the aluminum demand for solar energy had reached between 8.5 million and 10 million tonnes per year by 2040. If renewable energy sources were more widely used to limit global warming at 1.5 degrees Celsius, the demand for aluminum from the solar sector would be 12.6% by 2040, up from 3% in 2020.CopperWood Mackenzie stated that the rise in popularity of solar energy will also lead to a significant increase in copper demand for high- and low-voltage transmission cables, as well as thermal solar collectors. According to the report's base scenario, copper demand from solar power generation will rise from 0.4% million tons per year in 2020 to 0.7million tons annually by 2040.If global warming were to be stopped at 2 degrees Celsius, copper consumption in solar sectors would rise to 1.3million tons per year by 2040. The report stated that if temperatures rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius, industry consumption of copper could increase to 1.6million tons per year over the next 20 years.ZincAnalysts noted that zinc coatings were the only option for corrosion protection. This is because of the metal used to make solar panels' structural components. Wood Mackenzie stated that solar power plants account for approximately 0.4 million tonnes of global zinc consumption annually. This number could rise to 0.8 million tonnes by 2040 if global temperatures continue to rise at 2.8 to 3.0 degrees Celsius per year, assuming that the temperature increases are limited to 2.8 to 3.0 degrees Celsius. Zinc consumption would rise to 1.7 million tonnes per year if temperatures rose to 2 degrees Celsius. Analysts predicted that if warming were successfully controlled to 1.5 degrees Celsius, zinc consumption would increase to 2.1million tons per year in the solar sector by 2040.
