The dark side of green technology: what do electric vehicles really cost?

"Or about the millions of people worldwide whose job it is to dig up and sell vast quantities of metals such as cobalt, copper or tungsten. But you ought to. Electronic devices have turned the metals used in batteries into strategic resources; green technologies such as electric vehicles have accelerated the scramble for them. Metal-rich nations, from Chile to Indonesia, have been pulled into a contest between governments, multinational corporations and armed groups."

"He weaves together many seemingly disparate threads, from the DRC's colonial history to how the mineral-extraction industry has grown in several nations to battery development in leading laboratories around the world. He lays out clearly the emergence of resource nationalism and superpower competition to secure dependable supplies. Rather than a dull account of business deals, Niarchos shares a vivid story of how the greed of a handful of high-ranking individuals has hurt millions of people."

"Niarchos, whose work has been cited in hearings held in Washington DC on the effects of mining for battery metals in the DRC, has seen the damage that the race to dig is inflicting up close. He describes children scrabbling to prise out minerals in the province of Lualaba, for example, despite the risks of developing respiratory illnesses from breathing contaminated dust."

Electronic devices and green technologies have transformed cobalt, copper, and other battery metals into strategic, highly contested resources. The global surge in demand has pulled metal-rich nations into a scramble involving governments, multinational corporations, and armed groups. Colonial legacies and expanding mineral-extraction industries have shaped modern supply chains marked by resource nationalism and great-power competition. Mining operations and informal digging expose workers and children to health risks, including respiratory illnesses from contaminated dust. Profits concentrated among elites and corporations have exacerbated exploitation and environmental damage across producing regions. Transparent sourcing remains limited.

Read at Nature