The non-governmental organisation is calling on the industry to produce clean batteries for electric cars: respectful of human rights and sustainable in their production.
Amnesty International is calling on — or rather, challenging — the automotive industry to find a way, within 5 years, to produce batteries for electric vehicles sustainably. The international non-governmental organisation that fights injustice and defends human rights around the world has highlighted two main areas of concern: human rights, precisely, and environmental sustainability. The appeal was launched last March in Oslo, where the Nordic Electric Vehicle (EV) Summit was held — the annual gathering on electric cars and, more broadly, on zero-emission mobility. Production, then, while not forgetting that the disposal and recycling of batteries are also two fundamentally important issues. On the subject of recycling, some excellent news has recently come from the United States and Italy.
Starting with the first, here are the words of Kumi Naidoo, Secretary General of Amnesty International: "Electric cars are a fundamental asset in our efforts to solve environmental problems; however, we cannot avoid putting an end, once and for all, to the disregard for human rights perpetuated in the battery production process, because otherwise the environmental benefit will always remain partial, 'tainted'." Naidoo added: "The industry that governs the car market has both the resources and the capabilities needed to research and create truly sustainable and ethical energy solutions. That is why we are challenging it to come back here to Oslo next year with concrete evidence of progress in this direction."
When speaking of violated rights, Naidoo is referring in particular to the working conditions found in the mining sector for the minerals needed to produce lithium batteries for electric cars. One country above all: the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Here, according to a 2016 report, adults and children work in mines with their bare hands (or little more), with all that one can easily imagine in terms of health risks. Added to this is the accident rate at work, which is extremely high and often with tragic outcomes, due to the failure to observe even the most basic safety standards.
If the problem is significant today, imagine what could happen between now and 2030, when the number of electric cars in the world could reach — according to estimates by the International Energy Agency — 220 million, compared to 3 million in 2017, as reported in the report by the IEA itself in 2018.
Not "only" respect for human rights: Amnesty International has also placed emphasis on another very important aspect, namely the battery production process, which must be rigorous. There are two main reasons: the industries that manufacture them (in China, South Korea and Japan, above all) have a very high carbon footprint (an estimate of CO2 emissions); and second, the search for minerals such as manganese, cobalt and lithium deep in the oceans threatens biodiversity. These are aspects that cannot be overlooked if we truly want electric cars to do good for our planet. Throughout all of this, Amnesty does not fail to point out that electricity production must come from renewable sources and that the fate of batteries after their use must also be handled responsibly; and here we return not only to the issue mentioned at the outset — that of recycling — but also to proper disposal.
