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The Ugly Side of Green Economy
Over the past decade, the world has been transitioning from fossil fuels to green energy. And while the green economy model is all about improving human health and equity while minimizing environmental risks and ecological degradation, it extorts a price that is far too high to be tolerated. That’s because it trades out oil and gas for minerals such as Aluminum, Cobalt, and Polysilicon, many of which are produced using child and slave labor.
Twelve of such critical minerals are currently on the U.S. Labor Department’s recently issued List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor, said Thea Mei Lee, the Labor Department’s Deputy Undersecretary for International Labor Affairs.
“As the green energy revolution accelerates, so does the demand for critical minerals. The longer we hesitate, the more children will be forced into hazardous mines, the more workers will endure exploitation, and the more entrenched labor abuses will become in critical mineral supply chains.”
About 70 percent of Cobalt, which is used in lithium batteries, comes from the Republic of the Congo. It is mined there by around 255,000 workers, some 40,000 of whom are children as young as six.
At the same time, 22 percent of global deposits of Aluminum, as well as 45 percent of the world supply of Polysilicon, a major component in solar panels, can be found in China’s Xinjiang province. Xinjiang is also the home of the government-persecuted Uygur ethnic minority.
“Since 2020, we have identified six goods produced by Uyghur forced labor in China, and this year we added six more, including caustic soda, metallurgical-grade silicon, polyvinyl chloride, squid, jujubes, and aluminum,” said Deputy Undersecretary Lee.
“China is a leading … global exporter of almost all of these metals,” she said.
“These tainted goods are integral components in electronics, construction, automotive, and renewable energy technologies, and the pervasive nature of these exports makes it increasingly challenging for international businesses to ensure that their supply chains are free from products produced with forced labor.”
“Forced labor and child labor are all too common globally — even in times of prosperity and in both wealthy and poor countries,” said Deputy Undersecretary Lee. “As we seek to accelerate the development of clean energy supply chains, we must simultaneously put in place enforceable worker protections … And we must coordinate with likeminded countries to ensure that we are not isolated in this work.”