child labor
U.S. plan calls for EV battery plants in Democratic Republic of Congo, Zambia
An agreement for EV battery plants would help African nations process their raw materials instead of richer nations getting the benefits.
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Mining critical to renewable energy tied to hundreds of alleged human rights abuses
A report released Wednesday faults the U.S. and other nations for providing incentives for the mining of rare metals like lithium and cobalt without enacting adequate labor and environmental safeguards, Katie Surma reports for Inside Climate News.
In a nutshell:
Key quote
“We have to move away from fossil fuels and that requires minerals to manufacture renewable technologies,” said Caroline Avan, one of the authors of the report. “There is no way around that, but it should not mean we have to mine everywhere without any sort of safeguards.”
Big picture
Global demand for mission-critical minerals and metals and the promise of massive profits are a powerful incentive to cut corners and discourage public input through corrupt processes and at times, violent suppression of human rights defenders.
Read the full story at Inside Climate News
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Fashion Weeks are unsustainable. Can strict rules fix that?
Organizers of Copenhagen Fashion Week have created sustainability requirements for participating designers with the goal of setting a new industry standard.
For U.S. companies, the race for the new EV battery is on
Spurred by federal mandates and incentives, U.S. manufacturers are pushing forward with developing new battery technologies for electric vehicles. The holy grail is a battery that is safer, costs less, provides longer driving range, and doesn’t use imported “conflict” minerals.
Newsletter
How to make more sustainable Halloween candy choices
Chocolate, a fixture of Halloween, can have serious environmental, climate and social impacts.
Newsletter
U.S. shift on child labor may scramble EV sector
The Biden administration declared Tuesday that batteries from China may be tainted by child labor, a move that could upend the electric vehicle industry while giving fresh ammunition to critics of White House climate policies.
Kenyan farmers swap tobacco for beans
Over 100 Kenyan tobacco farmers took part in a government-backed project to plant sustainable crops instead of the usual tobacco plants. Their first harvest so far already yielded 135 tons of high-iron beans.
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