A review of systematic environmental risks across the life cycle of lithium resources: Identification, assessment, and sustainable governance strategies.

Canyang Chen, Mengyu Zhai, Wei Huan, Jianghao Ding, Yufeng Wu

Abstract readReview

In one paragraph

Review in Fundamental research, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it

0cells of the map it votes in

0citing papers in PubMed

–field-weighted citation impact

1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

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0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Canyang ChenState Key Laboratory of Materials Low-Carbon Recycling, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing 100124, China.

Mengyu ZhaiState Key Laboratory of Materials Low-Carbon Recycling, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing 100124, China.

Wei HuanState Key Laboratory of Materials Low-Carbon Recycling, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing 100124, China.

Jianghao DingState Key Laboratory of Materials Low-Carbon Recycling, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing 100124, China.

Yufeng WuState Key Laboratory of Materials Low-Carbon Recycling, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing 100124, China.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Driven by the global energy transition, lithium demand has surged dramatically, yet the full life cycle of this critical resource embodies a fundamental green paradox: decarbonization technologies rely on extraction and processing activities associated with severe and interconnected environmental burdens. Through systemic bibliometric analysis of 389 peer-reviewed studies, this review identifies three core systemic risk characteristics: upstream path dependency (hydrological stress in brine extraction; high carbon intensity and solid waste in hard-rock mining); downstream recycling system failure (secondary pollution from mainstream technologies and the proliferation of informal recycling); and cross-regional spatial transfer of environmental costs along the global supply chain. In response to these interconnected challenges, this study constructs a coordinated governance framework integrating technology, policy, and management dimensions. The framework proposes differentiated governance paths tailored to specific lithium sources and life cycle stages, coupled with market-based instruments to internalize environmental and social costs. This research aims to provide a pragmatic, systems-level resolution to the "green paradox," ensuring that the global energy transition rests on a genuinely sustainable foundation.

Indexed as

Green paradoxLithium resourcesSpent lithium-ion battery recyclingSustainable developmentSystemic environmental risk

Identifiers

PMID42846962

DOI10.1016/j.fmre.2026.04.021

PMCPMC13644507

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.