How China powers the world by controlling minerals - The Climate Question podcast, BBC World Service

China is the world’s biggest producer of rare earths – the minerals sometimes called the “oil of the 21st century”. We need rare earths for tech like mobile phones, but is the environmental price of mining them too high? Click here to subscribe to our channel 👉🏽 https://bbc.in/3VyyriM In 2025, BBC China Correspondent Laura Bicker visited two of the biggest production areas in the world. She saw the economic benefits the new industry can bring, but also the damage caused by the toxic chemicals used in mining rare earths. Laura tells The Climate Question Host Jordan Dunbar about her trip. Jordan also chats to BBC Climate and Science Reporter Esme Stallard about the unique properties of rare earths, which make them essential not just for consumer electronics, but also for the solar panels, electric vehicles and wind turbines which are needed for transitioning to cleaner energy. This programme was recorded in July 2025. 00:00 Introduction 00:55 What are rare earths and why are they so important? 03:25 How China dominates the industry 04:50 Visiting the “rare earth capital of the world” 12:15 The economic benefits of the mining boom 13:40 Pollution, toxic chemicals and China’s response 19:05 Who else is scrambling for rare earths? 21:05 New technology for improving rare earths mining 22:45 How we could do more to recycle our tech ---------------- This is the official BBC World Service YouTube channel. If you like what we do, you can also find us here: Instagram 👉🏽   / bbcworldservice   Twitter 👉🏽   / bbcworldservice   Facebook 👉🏽   / bbcworldservice   BBC World Service website 👉🏽 https://www.bbc.co.uk/worldserviceradio Thanks for watching and subscribing! #BBCWorldService #WorldService #minerals #rareearth #china #xijinping #donaldtrump