Pitfalls and Pipelines - Philippine Indigenous Peoples Links

74 Pitfalls and Pipelines: Indigenous Peoples and Extractive Industries
to invest in tree planting programmes without full recognition
of indigenous priority rights is a further threat to indigenous
peoples’ land rights, as companies have incentives to turn
their concessions into lucrative, long-term tree plantations.
The Contribution of Minerals Processing
Coal is the mined mineral that contributes most to global
warming. Much of the coal mined is for energy generation,
which we will examine shortly. Other parts of the mining industry,
however, combine with fossil fuel extraction to increase
global warming. It is estimated that mining and minerals
processing account for up to 10 percent of world energy consumption.
16 The production of iron and steel is based on the
massive extraction of iron ore and a heavy reliance on cheap
transport to carry it to the point of smelting and use. Yet it also
depends on high energy inputs and the use of coal in production.
This high energy demand is true of a wide range of metal
ores. Aluminium, copper and steel production alone account
for more than seven percent of global energy consumption. 17
Bauxite, the raw materials for aluminium, is often mined
over extensive areas, resulting in significant environmental
and social impacts. In addition, however, aluminium production
uses more electricity per unit of output than any other
industrial operation, apart from uranium hexafluoride production.
The process releases about two tons of carbon dioxide
for each ton of primary aluminum produced, and another
three tons of perfluorocarbons (PFCs), which are extremely
potent greenhouse gases; a ton of PFCs is equivalent to the
greenhouse potential of 6,500-9,200 tons of carbon. In 1997,
PFC emissions from aluminum smelters in Australia, Canada,
France, Germany, the United Kingdom, and the United States
were equivalent to about 19 million tons of carbon. The good
news is at least this is 50 percent less than their emissions in
1990, thanks to improvements in smelter efficiencies. 18
In 2000 the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
sponsored the Voluntary Aluminium Industrial Partnership,
which seeks to reduce emissions of PFCs and other harmful