China's Green Energy Dominance Built on Extractive Practices in Tibet

Strategic Insights -

China's rapid ascent as a clean energy superpower is built on a disturbing foundation of extractive practices in Tibet, where the Chinese Communist Party's quest for lithium, copper, and hydroelectric power is driving environmental degradation and human rights abuses. Recent developments in lithium and copper mining, along with mega-dam projects, expose the CCP's disregard for ecological sustainability and indigenous voices. While international headlines celebrate China's progress in green energy, the reality unfolding in Tibet suggests a troubling narrative of exploitation and authoritarian control.

Key Takeaways:

  • China's green energy ambitions are increasingly tied to the exploitation of Tibet's mineral-rich lands, with recent discoveries of a 2,800-kilometer spodumene belt containing an estimated 6.5 million tonnes of lithium ore.
  • The CCP has launched two major facilities in Nagormo, Qinghai Province, producing 60,000 tonnes of lithium compounds annually, and has approved the Mamicuo Salt Lake project in Ngari, Tibet, which will produce 50,000 tonnes of battery-grade lithium carbonate and 17,000 tonnes of borax per year.
  • Copper mining has also expanded significantly, with the Julong Copper Mine tripling daily ore processing to 350,000 tonnes and the Yulong Mine targeting an annual capacity of 30 million metric tonnes.
  • The CCP's approach to resource extraction in Tibet has been marked by opacity and repression, with environmental defenders like Tsawo Tsering facing imprisonment for exposing illegal mining practices.
  • Hydropower development has further compounded ecological concerns, with the planned mega-dam on the Yarlung Tsangpo River set to generate 300 billion kilowatt-hours annually, raising fears of landslides and earthquakes.
  • The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau Ecological Protection Law, adopted in April 2023, has done little to safeguard the region, with loopholes and vague language allowing mining to continue unabated within nature reserves.
  • Tibet is warming at more than twice the global average, threatening its role as the 'Third Pole' and 'Water Tower of Asia,' with glacier retreat, water scarcity, and ecosystem disruption accelerating.

Statistics:

  • 6.5 million tonnes of lithium ore discovered in Nyagchu County, Sichuan Province
  • 60,000 tonnes of lithium compounds produced annually by facilities in Nagormo, Qinghai Province
  • 50,000 tonnes of battery-grade lithium carbonate and 17,000 tonnes of borax produced per year by the Mamicuo Salt Lake project in Ngari, Tibet
  • 350,000 tonnes of daily ore processing planned for the Julong Copper Mine
  • 30 million metric tonnes of annual copper production targeted by the Yulong Mine
  • 300 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity to be generated annually by the planned mega-dam on the Yarlung Tsangpo River
  • 800 seismic events recorded in the area of the planned mega-dam
  • Tibet warming at more than twice the global average
  • 2,800 kilometers of spodumene belt containing lithium ore

Sources:

  • "China's green energy dominance built on extractive practices in Tibet, report says" by Reuters (no date)
  • "Tibet's Lithium Reserve Doubles China's Global Reserves" by Bloomberg (no date)
  • "Chinese Mining Company Launches Lithium Extraction Project in Tibet" by Sputnik News (no date)
  • "Tibetan activist jailed for exposing Chinese mining activities" by Al Jazeera (October 2024)
  • "China boosts renewable energy share with record installations in 2025" by CNBC (2025)
  • Qinghai-Tibet Plateau Ecological Protection Law (adopted in April 2023)