Demand globally will reach 42 million metric tons per year by that 2040 mark, up from 28 million metric tons in 2025, the report found. The conflict in Ukraine and moves by Japan, Germany and others to increase defense spending are likely to also fuel copper demand, the report found. "Demand for copper really is inelastic in the defense sector," said Carlos Pascual, an S&P vice president and former US ambassador to Ukraine. S&P published a similar report in 2022 that forecasted copper demand should the world reach carbon neutrality by 2050, a goal described as "net zero." The report released on Thursday uses a different methodology, S&P said, and forecasts demand using a base-case assumption that copper demand will rise regardless of government climate policy.

Source: The Edge Markets January 08, 2026 05:37 UTC