Anabelle Colaco
10 Jul 2025, 15:22 GMT+10
AMSTERDAM, Netherlands: Some 32 percent of global semiconductor production could face climate change-related copper supply disruptions by 2035, quadrupling from today's levels, advisory firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) said in a report for business leaders on Tuesday.
Chile, the world's largest copper producer, is already grappling with water shortages that are slowing down production. By 2035, most of the 17 countries supplying the chip industry will be at risk of drought, PwC said.
The last global chip shortage, fueled by a pandemic-driven demand spike that coincided with factory shutdowns, crippled the automotive industry and halted production lines across other chip-dependent sectors.
"It cost the U.S. economy a full percentage point in GDP growth and Germany 2.4 percent," PwC project lead Glenn Burm said in the report, citing the U.S. Department of Commerce.
Copper miners from China, Australia, Peru, Brazil, the U.S., Democratic Republic of Congo, Mexico, Zambia, and Mongolia will also be affected, sparing none of the world's chipmaking regions from risk, PwC said.
Copper is used to make the billions of tiny wires inside every chip's circuit. Even if alternatives are being researched, there is currently no match for its price and performance.
The risk will only increase over time if innovation on materials does not adapt to climate change, and a more secure water supply is not developed in the affected countries, PwC said.
"Around half of every country's copper supply is at risk by 2050 – no matter how fast the world reduces carbon emissions," the report says.
Chile and Peru have taken steps to secure their water supply by increasing mining efficiency and building desalination plants. This is exemplary, PwC says, but it may not be a solution for countries without access to large bodies of seawater.
PwC estimates that 25 percent of Chile's copper production is at risk of disruptions today, rising to 75 percent within a decade and to between 90 percent and 100 percent by 2050.
Get a daily dose of Yorkshire Observer news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Yorkshire Observer.
More InformationNEW YORK CITY, New York: With just weeks to spare before a potential government default, U.S. lawmakers passed a sweeping tax and spending...
Artillery shells and GMLRS rockets are reportedly being delivered after a Pentagon-led pause The US has resumed deliveries of some...
New Delhi [India], July 10 (ANI): Ambassador of India to Argentina, Ajaneesh Kumar of the Indian Foreign Service (IFS) Batch of 1996,...
Taipei [Taiwan], July 10 (ANI): A bipartisan bill aimed at protecting Taiwan's undersea communication cables from Chinese 'grey zone...
Kuala Lumpur [Malaysia], July 10 (ANI): The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has urged all parties involved in the South...
Balochistan [Pakistan], July 10 (ANI): Reports of enforced disappearances continue to emerge, with three new cases involving Baloch...
Eindhoven [Netherlands], July 10 (ANI): The India A Men's Hockey Team continued its impressive run in the second match of the ongoing...
(Photo credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images) Denis Bouanga scored on a penalty kick late in the first half and host Los Angeles FC...
New York [US], July 10 (ANI): Paris Saint-Germain is set to face Chelsea in the FIFA Club World Cup final on Sunday after claiming...
(Photo credit: Marc Vasconcellos / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images) Lionel Messi scored a pair of goals to give Inter Miami enough...
(Photo credit: Marc Vasconcellos / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images) Lionel Messi scored a pair of goals to give Inter Miami enough...
(Photo credit: Naomi Skinner/Times Record News / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images) Owners of the NFL's Minnesota Vikings and Kansas...