By Cassidy Rose | US Environmental Policy Student
Nations are shifting away from traditional coal and oil. Science makes clear the negative impacts that emissions have on the environment, and as we race to slow down the process of climate change, renewables are solidifying their place in the energy sector. Unfortunately, transition has downsides too. As we accept new technologies in place of our old ones, it is important that we take into account their social and environmental impacts throughout the whole process of construction to implementation. A large amount of the world’s mineral reserves are in the global south, and the extraction of critical minerals like cobalt, lithium, nickel, and graphite for electric vehicles and solar panels has some serious negative consequences to communities and ecosystems. The need for these resources is only increasing – the combined demand for lithium, nickel, and cobalt, which are all critical minerals, is expected to be 23x higher in 2035 compared to 2021[i]. The rise in demand for these minerals makes it necessary to carefully adjust policies and practices to better align with sustainable sourcing as the United States works to reduce emissions.
Electric and hybrid vehicles in the U.S. have, year after year, expanded their role in the automotive market – in the second quarter of 2024, electric and hybrid vehicles accounted for 21.9% of light-duty vehicle sales, promoted by the clean vehicle tax reduction credit and the Inflation Reduction Act[ii]. The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), one of the main producers of cobalt needed for large lithium batteries of EVs, is feeling the effects of neglectful extraction processes, and the expansion of these cobalt mines has led to human rights concerns. Conditions in the DRC highlight the dark side of the supply chain as the exploitative labor conditions are abysmal – child labor, crushed limbs and spines from the collapse of mines, basic and inefficient tools, and severe worker abuse occur, all while miners are compensated a mere few dollars a day. Beyond the concerning working conditions, the environment around these mines is severely degraded with rampant deforestation, and citizens, especially the impoverished, risk exposure to cobalt particulates[iii].
Much of the mining of lithium, for lithium batteries, comes from salt flats in South America, where Argentina, Chile, and Bolivia meet. This lithium mining has led to issues with local communities affected by the large operations in the area. Indigenous communities in these countries have expressed great concern and pushback for the expansion of these mines because of land rights and a lack of consultation when the government enters into controversial mining contracts. Moreover, because of the arid climate, they experience water scarcity, and there are concerns about the large quantities of water used in the lithium mining process and the water pollution, affecting those who live nearby[iv]. Sourcing from multiple countries for resources in this area leads to supply competition and more demand. The U.S. relies on Chile for 60% of refined copper, but the U.S. only accounts for 20% of Chile’s refined copper exportsi.
This pattern is not unique to Latin America or the DRC, it occurs across the global south, including similar concerns in China for resource extraction for magnetic material in wind turbines and semiconductor materials as welliv. The urgent push for green technologies has created areas referred to as “sacrifice zones”, where the well-being of local populations is overlooked in favor of extraction, despite the goal of supporting a sustainable transition[v].
Current U.S. policy aims to boost domestic clean energy production, specifically through the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). The IRA implements subsidies for green This act does include sections related to the sourcing of critical minerals, but there are limitations when it comes to combating the harmful mining processes. Looking closer, the act introduces requirements that a percentage of the value of applicable critical minerals must be extracted/processed in the U.S. or a country with which the U.S. has a free trade agreement or recycled in North America[vi]. These are certainly positives and emphasize investment in mining and processing in the U.S. and free trade partners with stronger regulations, environmentally, and labor-wise, compared to other regions. But, the focus of the IRA is mainly on securing supply chains and promoting domestic production, not directly detailing measure to combat harmful mining processes in general and while the act does aim to exclude minerals sourced “foreign entities of concern” after 2024, this doesn’t necessarily mean that materials are sourced sustainably and ethically from other locations – companies might shift sourcing to regions with more lax labor standards and less strict regulations.
To improve the policy, the U.S. can look to provide stricter environmental standards within the scope of the IRA. To do this, tax incentives for the use of mines that are certified to have appropriate conditions will mean that demand for materials from harmful mining operations will decrease, and this might prompt such operations to improve their standards for certifications. Institute for Responsible Mining Assurance certification, for example, uses over 420 requirements for certification, having to do with social and environmental responsibility, and business operations/legacy[vii]. Similarly, the Towards Sustainable Mining standard from the Mining Association of Canada ensures engagement with local communities, environmental stewardship, and responsible management of the site[viii]. Both certifications also ensure their transparency to maintain accountability.
Requiring corporations to disclose their sourcing from known “sacrifice zones” and environmentally degraded regions, though more indirect, may also help to reduce mining from these regions. This much resembles the Dodd-Frank Act (2010), where publically traded companies must disclose the sourcing of “conflict minerals”, those linked to armed conflict, from the Democratic Republic of the Congo or neighboring countries[ix]. Creating a similar act, or provision, but for critical minerals, will increase accountability and encourage sourcing from mines with ethical practices. Transparent supply chains are important because they reduce reputational risk, increase brand trust, and can even have improve efficiency with more meticulous information gathered from upstream sources[x].
To fully understand the scope of a burgeoning and broadening green industry, it is necessary to examine the widespread impacts, right back to the source, and ensure that the U.S. facilitates an ethical transition to a greener future through policy.
[i] One year into IRA sees challenging critical mineral demand intensify. Enlit World. (2023, August 21). https://www.enlit.world/policy-regulation/demand-for-electrification-metals-set-to-soar-one-year-into-ira/#:~:text=Material%20breakdown&text=Cobalt%20and%20nickel%20were%20both,its%20cobalt%20from%20those%20countries.
[ii]U.S. share of electric and hybrid vehicle sales reached a record in the third quarter – U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). (2024, December 4). https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=63
[iii]Gross, T. (2023, February 1). How “modern-day slavery” in the Congo powers the rechargeable battery economy. NPR. https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2023/02/01/1152893248/red-cobalt-congo-drc-mining-siddharth-kara
[iv] Solar and wind energy: Driver of conflict or force for peace?. Why Green Economy? (2017, May). https://whygreeneconomy.org/solar-and-wind-energy-driver-of-conflict-or-force-for-peace/
[v] Hine, A., Gibson, C., & Mayes, R. (2023). Critical minerals: rethinking extractivism? Australian Geographer, 54(3), 233–250. https://doi.org/10.1080/00049182.2023.2210733
[vi] Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, Pub. L. No. 117-169, 136 Stat. 1818 (2022).
[vii]IRMA mining standard. IRMA – The Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance. (2025, April 17). https://responsiblemining.net/irma-mining-standard/
[viii] Towards sustainable mining. The Mining Association of Canada. (2024, July 11). https://mining.ca/towards-sustainable-mining/
[ix] Fact sheet. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. (n.d.). https://www.sec.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2012-2012-163-related-materials
[x] Bateman, A., & Bonanni, L. (2019, August 20). What supply chain transparency really means. Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2019/08/what-supply-chain-transparency-really-means