[blackwasp]

Human Rights organisation Amnesty International has asked electric vehicle (EV) battery makers to come up with an ethical battery within the next 5 years. The non-government organisation highlighted human rights abuse and environmental risks in current sourcing of EV batteries.

At the Nordic EV summit in Oslo, Amnesty reported that the minerals for Li-ion batteries sourced from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) come from hand-dug Cobalt mines that employ children. Here, workers are exposed to serious health risks. A 2017 report has linked these mines to supply chains of the world's leading electronic companies and EV battery makers. DRC is currently producing 50% of the world's cobalt supply, which is estimated to have a demand of 200,000 tons by 2020 globally. Amnesty has also started documenting the human rights violations in Lithium mines in Argentina.

In terms of environmental impact, it was reported that countries like China, Japan and South Korea, where most of the Li-ion batteries are produced are dependent on coal and other polluting sources for electricity supply. While EVs are essential to reduce consumption of fossil fuels, the carbon-footprint of the manufacturing of batteries needs to be reduced. Increase in demand for Lithium, Cobalt etc. has caused an increase in deep-sea mining, which could cause irreversible impact on the biodiversity.

The group is also calling for proper disposal of batteries. It is reported that battery waste from electronics contains hazardous materials and have been found to contaminate the air, sea and soil. Amnesty will work alongside companies on 3 stages of the battery lifecycle - Extraction, Manufacturing and Reuse / Recovery to prevent any human rights violations along with environmental impacts at each stage.



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