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Today, Amnesty International publicly challenges the leaders of the electric vehicle industry to make the world's first fully ethical battery pack within five years. At the summit on Nordic electric vehicles in Oslo, the organization explained how lithium-ion batteries, which power electric cars and electronics, are badociated with human rights violations, including child labor in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and the environment. risks that could harm their green potential.
Without radical changes, the batteries that power green vehicles will continue to be tainted with human rights violations.
"Finding effective solutions to the climate crisis is an absolute must, and electric cars have an important role to play in this regard. But without radical changes, the batteries that power green vehicles will continue to be contaminated by human rights abuses, "said Kumi Naidoo, Amnesty International's Secretary General.
"The leading global companies that dominate the electric vehicle sector have the resources and expertise to create truly clean and equitable energy solutions. We challenge them to return to Oslo next year with evidence of real progress. With the increasing demand for batteries, the time has come to radically review our sources of energy, giving priority to the protection of human rights and the environment. "
Violations of human rights related to the extraction of minerals
Electric vehicles are the key to driving the auto industry away from fossil fuels, but they are not as ethical at the moment as some retailers would have us believe. Years of unregulated industrial practices have had detrimental effects on human rights and the environment, which governments and the industry are not doing enough to tackle.
Amnesty International has documented serious human rights violations related to the extraction of minerals used in lithium-ion batteries, particularly in the DRC. A 2016 survey found that children and adults working in hand-dug cobalt mines in southern DRC were exposed to serious health risks, which were neither protected by the government nor respected by the companies that benefited from their work. Amnesty's research has linked these mines to the supply chains of many leading brands in the electronics sector and electric vehicle companies.
Despite expectations that cobalt demand will reach 200,000 tonnes per year by 2020, no country legally requires companies to report publicly on their cobalt supply chains. With more than half of the cobalt in the world from southern DRC, the risk of batteries fueling electric vehicles being contaminated by child labor and other abuses is unacceptable.
We must change course now, without which the least responsible actors of climate change – indigenous communities and children – will pay the price of fossil energy renunciation. The energy solutions of the future must not be based on the injustices of the past.
Progress has been made since 2016. In response to Amnesty International's research, several leading companies, including Apple, BMW, Daimler, Renault and battery manufacturer Samsung SDI, have released data on their local TV channels. supply. do the same.
Amnesty International has also started documenting violations of the human rights of indigenous peoples living near the Lithuanian mines in Argentina. Aboriginal communities are not properly consulted on mining projects on their lands and do not receive enough information about the potential impacts of mining on their water sources. Without protection of human rights, damage to Aboriginal communities could increase as demand for lithium increases.
Other emerging threats
The environmental impact of battery production is also a concern. Most of the current manufacture of lithium-ion batteries is concentrated in China, South Korea and Japan, where electricity production remains dependent on coal and other polluting sources of energy. .
This means that while electric vehicles are essential for moving away from fossil fuels and reducing greenhouse gas emissions, much more needs to be done to reduce the carbon footprint at the manufacturing stage. At the same time, the growing demand for minerals such as cobalt, manganese and lithium has sparked a renewed interest in deep-sea mining, which studies say will have serious and irreversible consequences for the region. biodiversity.
Amnesty International also calls on companies to ensure that batteries are disposed of in a responsible manner. There is already ample evidence showing that battery waste from the electronics, which contains various hazardous materials, have been disposed of irresponsibly, contaminating the soil, water and air.
"Each stage of the life cycle of a battery, from mining minerals to scrapping, entails risks for human rights and for the environment," said Kumi Naidoo.
"We need to change course now, otherwise those least responsible for climate change – indigenous communities and children – will pay the price of fossil fuels. The energy solutions of the future must not be based on the injustices of the past. "
An alternative vision
By using the Nordic EV summit as a platform, Amnesty International today exhibited its vision of an ethical battery that does not violate human rights or the environment at any time of its existence. life cycle. The organization calls on governments, businesses, innovators, investors and consumers to create an ethical and sustainable battery that can be used in electric vehicles and in the electronics industry five years from now.
In the face of the climate crisis, consumers have the right to demand that products marketed as an ethical choice really withstand scrutiny.
Amnesty International's work will focus on the three phases of a battery's life cycle:
Extraction: mapping key mineral supply chains, calling for the identification, prevention and resolution of human rights impacts, and calling for the ban on the 39 commercial mining on the high seas;
Manufacturing: claim that the carbon footprint is properly disclosed, reduced and compensated; and that rights at work and in the workplace, including health, equality and non-discrimination, are legally protected and enforced;
Reuse and recovery: demand that products be designed and regulated in such a way as to maximize their potential for reuse and to penalize waste; and we prevent the illegal and dangerous export and unloading of batteries.
The challenge to businesses
Amnesty International today stressed that electric and electronic vehicle companies have a responsibility to ensure that their products do not contribute to or perpetuate human rights violations. The organization is calling on industry leaders to embark on a radical overhaul of their approach to energy solutions.
Companies who neglect their human rights concerns when cleaning up their energy sources present their customers with a false choice; people or the planet. This approach is seriously flawed
As a first step, companies should publicly disclose information on how human rights violations and environmental risks are avoided, identified and addressed throughout the life of the lithium-ion battery.
"In the face of the emerging climate crisis, consumers have the right to demand that products marketed as an ethical choice actually stand up to scrutiny," said Kumi Naidoo.
"Companies that neglect human rights concerns when cleaning their energy sources present their customers with a false choice." people or the planet. This approach is seriously flawed and will not produce the lasting changes we need to save humanity from climate devastation. We are asking industry leaders to think seriously about the kind of future they want to build. "
Context
Amnesty International is collaborating with Greenpeace USA to identify and map impacts on human rights and the environment throughout the life cycle of a battery, including the critical points of intervention needed to produce a ethical battery.
Efforts are under way in Norway to encourage companies to fulfill their duty of care in the field of human rights.
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