There is great global demand for lithium and other battery minerals to drive the shift to green energy. However, in Zimbabwe – where much of the world’s lithium is extracted – people are mainly relying on coal to meet their energy needs.

Coal is still a critical mineral in Southern Africa, because of the region’s big problems with power shortages.
“People don’t care where the energy comes from, they just want energy. This does not mean, however, that people don’t believe in climate changes — they simply want to use the available energy resources that they have, says NAI researcher Grasian Mkodzongi,”