Our tech obsession is fueling poverty, war and human trafficking. How, and what can we do to help?

This is going to be a very deep episode. We’re talking human rights violations, genocide and human trafficking and it all comes down to the devices you use and the batteries that power them.

While Electric Vehicles are definitively better than fossil fuel vehicles, they are not perfect and it’s important to understand why. I’m not doing this episode to induce guilt or horror, but before we can make impactful change, we often need to first understand exactly what is going on.

More Information

Some places you can learn more and donate to help the situation in the Congo:

https://friendsofthecongo.org/children/

‍https://donate.unhcr.org/int/en/democratic-republic-congo-emergency

‍https://www.wfp.org/countries/Congo

‍https://goodweave.org/the-issue/child-and-forced-labor-in-artisanal-cobalt-mining-in-the-congo/

https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2023/02/01/1152893248/red-cobalt-congo-drc-mining-siddharth-kara

‍https://www.theclimateclub.co/environmental-healthblogs/347zlomifb9x9jsyogvi4kymlynxfb

‍More information about Fairphone: https://www.fairphone.com/nl

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Transcript:

Brianne (intro): Kia ora kaitiaki and welcome to Now That's What I Call Green. I'm your host, Brianne West, an environmentalist and entrepreneur trying to get you as excited about our planet as I am. I'm all about creating a scientific approach to making the world a better place without the judgment and making it fun. And of course, we'll be chatting about some of the most amazing creatures we share our planet with. So if you are looking to navigate through everything green or not so green, you have come to the right place.

Brianne: Kia Ora, welcome back. We have a deep episode today. We're talking human rights violations, genocide, human trafficking, and it has everything to do with what you are probably listening to this on. But as always, this isn't about inducing guilt or horror. It's about providing you the information and giving you some ideas of what you can do so we can, as you guessed it, try and make the world a better place. So today we're talking electric vehicles or EVs, mobile phones and other electronic stuff. Now we already know, before anybody gets up there, that EVs are categorically better than internal combustion engines. And anybody still arguing that simply hasn't read the scores of independent LCAs or they're just arguing for the sake of it because there's this weird macho thing going on with EV's but that's another topic for another pod.

Now they're better, but they're not perfect and a big problem with them is the stuff that predominantly goes into the batteries right? You're probably already aware of cobalt and lithium and mining which is what we're going to focus on today. It's a complex issue but I do want to break it down a little for you so you can make better end choices. But let's start rehashing this point because I know there's going to be people in the comments, EVs are better for the environment. Yes, this still counts if they are run on fossil fuel produced electric because they are more efficient. It is a proven scientific fact. Don't get confused. Again, this doesn't mean they're perfect. Of course they're not. But batteries are now roughly 98% recyclable, mining is becoming more and more efficient so there's less environmental damage, and there are new battery developments, which we're going to get into shortly. Over their lifetime, EVs emit far fewer greenhouse gases than conventional vehicles. Studies show that an EV can reduce carbon emissions by 50% over its lifetime compared to a gasoline car, depending on the energy mix of the power grid it's charged from.

And as grids become greener, this is only going to get better. EVs are more efficient, so they convert over 60% of the electrical energy from the grid to power the wheels, whereas your conventional internal combustion engine manages about 20%. So they're very wasteful. It just means that EVs require less energy to travel the same distance as their internal combustion counterparts. Finally, of course, the direct health benefits are significant because EVs produce no tailpipe emissions, reducing air pollutants. No one ever seems to consider this, but remember, 7 million people die a year from airborne pollutants and that is set to grow. Okay, are we putting that to bed? Good, I am tired of having this debate on social media. People are just weird about EVs. If you don't want one, don't buy one.

But if we go back to why they're not perfect, let's have a chat about chemistry. Cobalt and lithium and why are they a problem. Lithium is the lightest metal and has the highest electrochemical potential. All that means is that it can store and release energy very efficiently. This makes lithium-ion batteries incredibly powerful for their size, which is why they are used in everything from smartphones to electric cars. We're going to get to smartphones in a minute. Cobalt, on the other hand, is an element that is used in some batteries to stabilise that battery and increase its energy density. This helps the batteries last longer and perform better, prevents overheating and extends their lifespan. Without cobalt, batteries would potentially be less efficient and potentially unsafe. I'm sure we've all seen the issues with batteries spontaneously setting on fire.

But the extraction of these minerals does come at a high cost. Mining operations lead to habitat destruction, deforestation and significant water pollution. In Chile, lithium mining in the Atacama Desert consumes huge amounts of water, depleting local resources and harming the environment and communities that depend on it. Similarly, cobalt mining releases toxic substances that can contaminate soil and water, so they pose risks to both wildlife and human populations. But these minerals are indispensable for the production of rechargeable batteries. Without them, our movement away from fossil fuels, which obviously do much more damage, won't go anywhere.

So that's the environmental cost, but actually there is a horrific human cost in this too, and this is where cobalt stands alone. Around 70% of the world's cobalt is mined in the Democratic Republic of Congo, or DRC, a region plagued by horrific human rights abuses. Children as young as seven work in artisanal mines under dangerous conditions, often without bare minimum protective equipment. These very young miners have very long hours exposure to toxic chemicals and mine collapses.

According to a 2016 report by Amnesty International, children accounted for up to 40% of the workforce in these mines. And additionally, about 255,000 Congolese people were employed in cobalt mines. So this is a big issue. But to fully understand how we've got here, we kind of need to look at historical context. The Congo has a long and very troubled history that has shaped the challenges it faces today, and it all comes down to colonialism. So in the late 19th century, King Leopold II of Belgium, who was an absolute monster, decided he would claim the Congo as his personal property. Yep, he just wanted it. He wanted to exploit it into vast, vast resources and people for profit. It was a brutal regime, characterised by forced labor, violent suppression, that led to the deaths of an estimated 10 million Congolese people. This period of exploitation laid the groundwork. It definitely doesn't stop there.

After gaining independence from Belgium in 1960, they went through a period of political turmoil and another dictatorship, further weakening the country's infrastructure and economy. And like so many countries in Africa, resource exploitation has always been at the heart of the Congo's troubles. This country is massively rich in minerals like copper, diamonds, and gold and has the potential to bring huge wealth. But that potential has also fueled conflict and corruption, and that has been predominantly backed by the West. So during the First and Second Congo Wars, which took place from 1996 to 2003, various arms groups backed by neighbouring countries fought for control over these resources. These wars killed another 5.4 million people and caused just unfathomable suffering and displacement.

It's greed, it's always greed. The impact of colonialism combined with decades of mismanagement and conflict, has left the Congo with really weak institutions and widespread poverty. This kind of environment makes it really difficult to enforce laws and regulations, allowing human rights abuses and environmental degradation to persist in this industry. And that is why it has been so hard to remedy. I'm not saying that people aren’t trying. However, of course, not all companies are trying that hard.

So if we look at today, what is going on with these mines, rebel groups and armed militias control many of these areas. They force local populations into mining under brutal conditions. The profits from these mines fund these ongoing conflicts and violence. So they use the proceeds to buy weapons, and this is just perpetuating a cycle of violence and instability. The presence of these armed groups leads to widespread displacement with millions of people forced to flee or face the threat of severe violence. And according to the UN, over 5 million people, that's the population of Aotearoa, have been displaced due to ongoing conflicts. And it's all linked to control over these mining regions.

As usual, women and girls in these areas face additional threats, including sexual violence. Reports from Human Rights Watch and other organisations have documented widespread sexual exploitation and abuse by armed groups, and sometimes it's by the very people who are supposed to protect them. Now Western companies like Apple and Tesla, through their demand for cobalt and other materials have directly funded these conflicts and the associated human rights abuses. Whilst some companies are for sure trying to source these materials responsibly, the complex and generally opaque nature of supply chains is making it very difficult to ensure that minerals are conflict free. And again, some companies aren't trying that hard.

I've seen this company listed in one of those top 10 most evil companies in the world, but actually you've probably never heard of it. And that is a company called Glencore. They are a multinational commodity trading and mining company. Glencore is heavily involved in cobalt mining in the DRC and has faced many, many allegations regarding environmental damage and human rights abuses. They are constantly criticised for contributing to the exploitation of workers and the perpetuation of conflicts in the region. They supply cobalt to major companies like General Motors and Tesla amongst many others.

There is also government interference too of course, western governments, which I'm not going to go into as it's complex and I'm just not educated enough to speak on the issue. But at the end of the day, in my opinion, if companies truly wanted to resolve this, companies like Tesla and Glencore, they could. And if you create a problem, it is your responsibility to resolve it.

There was a recent court case, unfortunately, that has been dealt a really disappointing blow. So they had Doe v. Apple Inc. Where former child miners and their representatives sued major tech companies like Apple, Google, Microsoft, Dell and Tesla. And they argued that these companies, by purchasing cobalt from suppliers known for child labour, they were complicit in their exploitation.

However, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled that simply buying cobalt did not, quote, “amount to participation in a venture under federal law.” The court stated that the companies had a buyer-seller relationship with their suppliers and did not have any direct control over the mining operations. I mean, yeah, sure, they don't have any direct control, but they also do. You know, this is what I'm saying about businesses and the power they have. If you clean up your supply chain, you would change the world.

And this ruling has sparked debate about exactly that and about the responsibilities of tech companies and their supply chains and broader implications for corporate accountability. Laws and morals are not the same thing and sometimes the law doesn't work. But there are some companies that are doing better. So for example, from what I've read, BMW does not source cobalt from Congo at all but actually has a project there called Cobalt 4 Development or C4D which is trying to formalise the artisanal mining in Congo. It's all well and good for everyone saying, oh, shut it down, shut it down. But over one million Congolese rely on this for their sole income. It's as complex as child labor is, right? So a safer option is to put in place standards, safety requirements, environmental regulations and assure these miners are paid a fair price.

Tesla has some good news, too. They confirmed in 2022 that half of the cars they made have batteries that are cobalt free. They're called iron phosphate batteries and they're a new-ish development that you're going to start seeing rolling out. The cobalt sourcing for the rest of their cars leaves much to be desired, though, and Apple have confirmed that they will only use recycled cobalt by 2025.

Those are all good things. Battery technology, too, is rapidly advancing. Researchers are developing alternatives to current battery compositions, aiming to hopefully eliminate the need for cobalt entirely. So you've got something called solid-state batteries, which promise to be more efficient and safer with no cobalt.

Then you've got sodium ion batteries which are being developed which don't need cobalt and are heading into supply chains and car makers. So again, some companies are doing the right thing. We are not going to run out of cobalt anytime soon. I see people saying that we don't have the earth minerals we need to move to a renewable future. That's not true. Just in the reserves we know about, we have about 45 years worth of cobalt. But with recycling, better tech, we may not need it, and that could be a much more positive story. But as it stands, this exploitation, this abuse is happening right now.

And I have talked pretty exclusively about cars here, but this is true of everything. This is true of the laptop I'm recording this on. It is true of the phone that is beside me all hours of the day. It's your Roomba, it's your Alexa device. We are all complicit in this. And now we know it feels awful, doesn't it? You do not want to be responsible for someone else's horrific struggles. I know that you don't. But also, what are we going to do about it? Remember, as the consumer, you have ultimate power. And as is always the answer with sustainability, it comes down to only buying what you need. In my 20s, I used to be that person who upgraded every single year because I was obsessed with the newest and greatest and how it impacted, interestingly enough, on what I thought other people would think of me, which is why actually we collectively do a lot of the things we do. A lot of brands we love capitalise on the idea that by carrying around a bag or something, it tells other people something about us and we feel good about ourselves, which is something we should all work on. Anyway, now, however, I don't give a toss.

A phone is a critical tool for me, absolutely for work, which I only replace when it no longer works as it should. And when that does happen, I get it refurbished and try to use it again, or give it to someone else who can work with a phone that has less battery life or less memory. And then once it's truly done, I send it to be recycled. We need to start thinking a little bit harder about the things we buy. We talk a lot about fast fashion. We don't talk about our obsession with tech. And it's actually a very similar premise. And arguably, just as destructive. You can extend the life of your electronics with things like regular maintenance repairs or fixing a broken screen, replacing a battery. That's often way cheaper and more sustainable than buying a brand new thing.

You need to keep your device's software up to date. I know, I know, updates are a nightmare. I find that you update your bloody Microsoft laptop and nothing will work ever again, but software updates do improve performance. They do improve security and they'll help your device run smoother for longer. For phones, invest in good quality cases and screen projectors. I don't know anybody who doesn't drop their phone regularly. And again, when your device does reach the end of its life, recycle it responsibly. Many companies or organisations offer recycling programs that will recover the materials from within the old electronics, reducing the need for mining, like Apple, for example.

Additionally, support brands that prioritise ethical sourcing and sustainability. So you've got companies like Fairphone. They are leading the way by designing modular phones that are easy to repair and they use ethically sourced materials. Have you ever heard of them? I hadn't either, if I'm perfectly honest. So have a look in the show notes for info on them. We all need a phone. We often need a laptop. We need to work a lot of the time, so don't feel guilty that you need these things. But you can do better with what you buy and how long you keep it. That's all I'm saying.

That was quite heavy, really. I do try and make this podcast optimistic and uplifting, but some things just aren't cheerful, and it's kind of hard to put a good twist on this. But what I do like is that there is some things we can do to make this better. I do see change on the horizon for this after decades of exploitation and vile human rights abuses, and I've listed some places you can learn more and donate if you can in the show notes. But ultimately, by supporting companies and policies that prioritise ethical and sustainable practices, we can absolutely change this. You need to look for brands that are transparent about their supply chains and committed to responsible sourcing, support legislation and initiatives that aim to improve mining practices and protect human rights.

I drive an EV. The reason I chose a BMW was their stance and actual action towards the sourcing of cobalt and other sustainability initiatives. I'm not saying you need to give up electronics because obviously we're in a world that we just can't, but I am saying we can make a difference with the choices we make. Thank you for joining me on what has probably been a little bit confronting. Next episode is going to be a lot more fun. We're going to talk about ugly animals and how they need love too. So kia ora kaitiaki, see you next time.

Brianne (outro): And there you go. I hope you learned something and realised that being green isn't about everything in your pantry matching with those silly glass jars or living in a commune. If that's your jam, fabulous. But sustainability at its part is just using what you need. If you enjoyed this episode, please don't keep it to yourself and feel free to drop me a rating and hit the subscribe button. Kia ora and I'll see you next week.

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