Doug Aitken, Executive Director of SMI-ICE-Chile, did an outstanding job speaking at the scientific summit «Earth-Human Interactions: Sustainability and Development,” at Northwestern University, where the main challenges and advances in the areas of energy, climate change, cities and the environment were discussed.
At the event organized by Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Northwestern in Chicago, our executive director spoke on the subject: «Hero or Villain? The role of the mining industry in the climate crisis and what can be done to influence the outcome.»
According to a report in the Daily Northwestern, Doug Aitken highlighted the essential role of the mining industry in producing the critical minerals required for a more sustainable world. «This industry is key to the energy transition,» he explained, «but it also needs to make changes towards more virtuous practices. Mining doesn’t need to be an industry that creates environmental damage. On the contrary, it can be an industry that creates environmental opportunities. But that’s going to make or require a huge amount of changes.”