During COP26, over 40 nations committed to phasing out coal from their energy mixes. Despite this, coal-powered electricity generation reached an all-time high in 2021.
The share of the world’s population living in cities is expected to rise to 80% by 2050, from 55% now. This could double global material consumption.
Zinc plays a critical role in technologies like solar and wind power, and zinc-ion batteries are seen as safer than lithium-ion ones in electric vehicles.
The Earth's crust makes up 1% of the planet's volume. Many elements make up the crust, with some, like oxygen and iron, being more abundant than others.
In 2020, the amount of human-made mass, or anthropogenic mass, exceeded for the first time the dry weight (except for water and fluids) of all life on Earth.
While the combination of metals in a smartphone may vary, most smartphones can carry roughly 80% of the stable elements that are on the periodic table.
