The hidden cost behind the US push for green energy

In the U.S., climate change-related incidences have increased, showing a rise in wildfires, heatwaves, floods, poor air quality, and many more threats that are driving our push toward green energy sources. But these green sources require critical minerals to be incorporated into the technology.

A major mineral required for this technology is cobalt, which is primarily sourced from the Haut-Katanga Province in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Research by the University of Lubumbashi has shown a significantly increased risk of birth defects among the children of parents who have worked in the region’s cobalt mines.

Cobalt exposure is linked to higher cancer risks, chronic respiratory issues, and skin irritation. The Congolese government has implemented laws to regulate mining sites’ safety, but economic and political conditions limit its ability to implement regulations on all sites, according to the World Economic Forum. An international solution is needed.

The United Nations reports that over 40,000 cobalt miners in Haut-Katanga are children, who are more vulnerable to the health risks that occur from cobalt exposure. Unmanaged mining sites cause pollution that destroys fertility in the soil, increasing food scarcity. The U.S. government could address this crisis by requiring large corporations to track the complete life cycle of cobalt in their supply chain.

These corporations must be required to create remediation in the sites where they have collected cobalt for their products, and to use part of the profits gained from cobalt extraction to ensure mining practices meet the standards recommended by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development limiting exposure to cobalt and eliminating child labor. This would address 30 percent of cobalt in the region that has origins linked to unregulated artisanal small mine sites as reported by the World Economic Forum.

Last month, the U.S. House of Representatives introduced a bill to address the damage to the health of unregulated and forced mining by banning cobalt importation from the Democratic Republic of Congo. However, this strategy has a strong likelihood to increase the poor health of the people there.

Similar action was taken for the critical minerals gold, tin, tungsten and tantalum under the Dodd-Frank Act, to reduce critical minerals linked to violence. But a study published by the National Institute of Medicine subsequently found that this only increased violence, including battles, by 44 percent. This is why something must be done not only to trace supply chains, but also to require remediation to help stabilize the region.

In June, the European Parliament approved the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive, which will require companies in the European Union, and companies that contribute €150 million to the EU market, to trace their supply chains and provide remediation efforts for human rights and environmental violations. This legislation would apply to the use of minerals such as cobalt. It will be the first step in expanded accountability for corporations to address the impact that their supply chains have on human health directly from sourcing.

Increased corporate responsibility in the U.S. is a key component to ensuring the health of people across the globe. An increase in the demand for green-energy technology in the U.S. causes an increase extraction of cobalt in Haut-Katanga. Currently, the EU is creating the first steps toward reducing the poor human rights conditions that drive respiratory issues and birth defects in Haut-Katanga. The U.S. must now make this same commitment to hold corporations responsible for the impact their supply chain has on the communities they profit from.

A policy must be made that requires increased traceability in the supply chain that results in the necessary remediations to ensure proper safety regulations for the mining of cobalt.

Kaleb Alexander Robertson, MPA, is a specialist in supply chain sustainability and a public health graduate student at Louisiana State University.