A roadmap to combating climate change

This executive summary, produced by the Stockholm Environment Institute for the Combat Climate Change (3C) initiative, examines how resource scarcity in biomass, metals, and water could hinder the transition to a low-carbon economy. It evaluates various scenarios for resource availability and proposes strategies—including technological innovation, policy shifts, and efficiency improvements—to ensure the viability of green technologies.

• Biomass is a viable but constrained resource for a low-carbon economy, limited by land and water availability and the risk of impairing ecosystem functioning. Current human appropriation of net primary productivity (HANPP) is estimated at 20 per cent globally, with significant regional disparities ranging from 6 per cent in South America to 80 per cent in South Central Asia.
• A 'Sustainability Transition' scenario, which balances agricultural production with climate mitigation, is identified as a promising path. This approach involves reducing annual emissions by 2020 and using biomass for 25 per cent of total energy supply by 2035, while accepting some sacrifices in yield increases to reduce environmental impact.
• The large-scale deployment of low-carbon technologies faces significant risks from the scarcity of specific metals. By 2035, cumulative supply deficits are projected for all five metals studied, with the most severe risks associated with indium and tellurium, and moderate to severe risks for neodymium. Cobalt and lithium present a limited risk of long-term cumulative supply deficits.
• Efforts to mitigate metals scarcity include substitution, recycling, and efficiency improvements. Some companies are researching the replacement of indium and gallium with tin and zinc in semiconductors, while others are developing non-metal substitutes like plastic electronics for photovoltaic cells and LEDs.
• Low-carbon electricity generation creates a 'water-energy nexus' where water-scarce regions may struggle to support certain technologies. For example, concentrating solar power (CSP) is most viable in hot, dry areas where water is limited. Additionally, adding Carbon Capture and Sequestration (CCS) to coal or natural gas plants increases water withdrawals by 41 to 95 per cent and consumption by 45 to 91 per cent.
• Climate change is already causing water-energy conflicts that force power plants to reduce output. Examples include a 2006 heat wave in the US Midwest that forced a Minnesota plant to reduce generation by 50%, and a 2001 drought in Brazil that led to a 'virtual break-down' of hydro-electricity.
• A case study of California's Renewables Portfolio Standard (RPS) demonstrates that modifying technology mixes can reduce water pressure. An 'RPS+Technology' scenario—which shifts the solar portfolio toward a 50:50 mix of CSP and photovoltaics and adopts dry cooling for some biomass and natural gas plants—results in lower emissions and water withdrawals compared to business-as-usual, with only a modest rise in water consumption.

APA

Stockholm Environment Institute (n.d.). A roadmap to combating climate change. https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/Climate/sei-3c-resource-scarcity-summary.pdf

Chicago

Stockholm Environment Institute. A roadmap to combating climate change. n.d. https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/Climate/sei-3c-resource-scarcity-summary.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Stockholm Environment Institute |title=A roadmap to combating climate change |url=https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/Climate/sei-3c-resource-scarcity-summary.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{stockholmenvironmentinstitutendroadmap, author = {{Stockholm Environment Institute}}, title = {{A roadmap to combating climate change}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, url = {https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/Climate/sei-3c-resource-scarcity-summary.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }