The Rise Of Copper In A Green Economy

In the quest to decarbonise world economies, the global demand for copper could rise substantially. The reason? Its unique properties make it a metal that can play a role in reducing carbon emissions.

- David McKay

Copper is sometimes referred to as ‘Dr. Copper’ because of its centrality in economic development. When copper demand is thriving, it normally means global GDP is in a good space. There is, though, a new role for the metal that’s equally important. According to a report by Bernstein, the New York bank, the future demand for copper will be heavily influenced by the degree to which world economies are able to decarbonize. This is owing to Dr. Copper’s ‘climate-healing’ industrial applications.

According to Paul Gait, an analyst at Bernstein who helped author a report into copper’s evolving role in the green economy, the expected tripling in wind farm capacity from the current 600GW in output in the next decade equates to 330 000 tonnes of copper demand this year, at a9% compound average growth rate over the next ten years.

“In other words, we should be expecting almost 1m tonnes per annum of incremental copper demand coming from wind power alone in 2029,” said Gait in the report. The proliferation of solar power is also expected to make demands on copper supply.