SDSG Has Four Featured Articles in
Solar Today Magazine!
SDSG is proud to announce that we have four featured articles in the latest issue of Solar Today, the magazine produced by the American Solar Energy Society. This magazine issue delves into the theme of minerals challenges and solutions. It explores the role minerals play in the energy transition and discusses constructive solutions to environmental concerns.

A huge thank you to our wonderful authors that dedicated their time, effort, and knowledge to writing these exceptional articles.
Article One
The Biggest Piece of the Puzzle: Aluminum and the Energy Transition
Author: Christopher Medary
This article presents a brief introduction to aluminum and its importance in our economy, its uses and demand within renewable technologies, and the ongoing environmental and social costs of aluminum production.
Article Two
Deserts, Water, and Lithium: Indigenous Rights in the Energy Transition
Authors: Verónica Morelli and Luke Danielson
Lithium is crucial for the transition to renewable energy, but more than four-fifths is in land important to, or controlled by, Indigenous Peoples. Morelli and Danielson discuss sources of lithium, lithium mining and developments, and Indigenous Peoples concerns surrounding lithium mining.
Article Three
Copper Crisis: Inequality and Conflict Put Global Decarbonization at Risk
Author: Brian Wagenaar
Copper, an infinitely recyclable mineral, is needed for global decarbonization. However, access to copper is characterized by deep inequality. Wagenaar explores copper production, copper projects, and the need for sustainable copper throughout the entire supply chain.
Article Four
Battery Minerals: Is the Energy Transition Dependent on
the DRC's Cobalt?
Author: Akua Debrah and Luke Danielson
The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) produces 70% of the world's cobalt. Cobalt demand will quadruple by 2030 globally, but can the cobalt supply chain keep pace? Debrah and Danielson look at cobalt and the green transition, and
outline the challenges and dangers of the cobalt mining industry in the DRC.
In Case You Missed It: We Released a Book!
El Camino hacia la Paz y el Desarrollo (The Path to Peace and Development: Emerging Legal Framework for the Development of Natural Resources on Indigenous Lands) was published in September by the Human Rights Institute of the University of Deusto in Spain.
This book is a collaborative effort among nine authors, which examines legal developments and lessons learned in Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guatemala, Mexico, and Peru in ensuring compliance with international human rights obligations and standards on consultation and consent. It analyzes over two dozen major decisions of superior courts interpreting and applying national obligations under international law, notably ILO Convention 169.
Thank you to the Foundation for Natural Resources and Energy Law (formerly the Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundation) for supporting the translation of this paper from Spanish to English, and to co-author José Mozó for leading the translation project. The English version was originally published by the Foundation in the manual of the International Mining and Oil & Gas Law, Development, and Investment Special Institute (2023).
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