Governments in Europe, the United States, Canada, and Australia have set themselves ambitious targets for a transition to a low-carbon energy system. These targets are overwhelmingly dependent on the mining industry. The transition is impossible without massive amounts of copper, steel, lithium, and a host of other elements found in the Earth’s crust. But there is a problem: taking these elements out takes people. And there are not enough people to do that. The labor shortage problem first became obvious during the pandemic, when lockdowns…
