The recent 26th edition of the Conference of the Parties (COP26) brought about renewed vigour to phase down carbon dioxide emissions across the globe. Still, to get there, the mining industry will face unprecedented demand for certain metals key to facilitating the energy transition.

Bank of America recently weighed in on the outlook for essential commodities in 2022, concluding that ‘decarbonization’ is the critical driver for metals important for future technologies (MIFTs).

“The question as to whether this was a ‘good’ or ‘bad’ COP depends on prior expectations over what the outcome should be on a range of contentious topics, with leaders from nearly 200 countries tackling several outstanding issues, including the current status of nationally determined contributions (NDCs) and the rules governing international carbon markets and climate financing,” said the bank’s UK-based commodity strategist Michael Widmer during a webcast.

While Glasgow was certainly not the ultimate stage in the journey to combat climate change, according to Widmer, it signalled “more the ‘beginning of the end,’” as UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson outlined during the opening ceremony. “All in, we believe that COP26 kept the goal alive of limiting the temperature increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius,” said Widmer.