We often talk about the energy transition as a move away from fossil fuels—but what if we’ve simply traded one kind of extraction for another?

In a recent lecture at UC San Diego, Helen Thompson, Professor of Political Economy at the University of Cambridge, laid out a compelling case that the global energy shift is not just about decarbonizing—it’s about metals. From copper to rare earth elements, today’s energy technologies depend on resources that come with their own environmental, social, and political costs.

Thompson began with a historical perspective, pointing out that fossil fuels—coal, oil, and gas—have been central to industrial growth and geopolitical power for over two centuries. Britain’s 19th-century rise, the global dominance of the U.S. dollar, and the economic shocks of the 1970s all tie back to energy politics. Fossil fuels made modern life possible, but they also locked economies into patterns of dependence and inequality.

Now, as we transition toward clean energy, Thompson warns that we may be underestimating the challenges. The infrastructure of the future—electric vehicles, wind turbines, solar panels—relies heavily on mined metals. And unlike oil and gas, which are relatively concentrated in a few regions, many of these metals are sourced from politically sensitive or environmentally fragile areas. Today, China plays a dominant role in refining and processing many of these materials, adding a new layer to the global energy map.

Thompson notes that extraction—whether of fossil fuels or metals—has never been clean or neutral. Ancient Roman writers observed the damage caused by mining in their own time. What’s changed today, she says, is the scale. The demand is massive, and the stakes are global.

To build a sustainable future, Thompson argues that we must recognize the limits of the model we’ve inherited: a belief in endless economic progress driven by resource exploitation. Instead, she calls for a shift in mindset—one that prioritizes sustainability, international cooperation, and a willingness to confront hard trade-offs.

The energy transition isn’t just about switching technologies. It’s about rethinking what kind of future we want to build, and how we get there without repeating the mistakes of the past.

Watch The Moral Economy of Resource Extraction and the Future of Industrialization.