Blood Batteries: Liberals Green Colonialism Exploiting the African Poor

During international meetings in Rome last month, African leaders warned that the West’s strategy for combatting “climate change” by building an ever-larger fleet of EVs is both undercutting their supposed concern for the environment and destroying the lives of entire communities. Specifically, mining operations for minerals like nickel, lithium, cobalt, and copper are poisoning the air and water sources, while women and children as young as six years old toil long hours in unsafe conditions.
The catastrophic effects of these mining operations can be observed most acutely in Western and Central Africa, particularly the Democratic Republic Of Congo (DRC) where families are fleeing insecurity and danger. The DRC supplied nearly 75 percent of the world’s cobalt in 2021, and it is estimated that up to 40,000 children under 15 work in the mines.