Each EV battery needs around 8kgs of cobalt, 80% of which comes from the Congo, along with another necessary mineral, coltan.

This month, a Congolese coltan mine collapsed killing 200 people. Last November, 32 Congolese were killed looking for cobalt.

It is estimated that by 2050 the demand for cobalt for EV batteries will increase by 585% (World Bank).

In the Congo, the use of child labour will increase. There are around 40,000 of these poor little buggers slaving away under appalling conditions (Amnesty International). Their protection against toxic cobalt dust is a cloth mask - maybe.

Mines owned mainly by Communist China.

Many of the dead kids stay buried in collapsed mines. Their families never see them again. Their miserable pay just stops.

Also, in the name of a “green” environment for the wealthy West, just this year, millions of cubic metres of toxic lead and arsenic-laden water went into the Lubumbashi river, poisoning the water supply of 3 million residents.

Until the true cost of this so-called green revolution is confronted, the suffering in the Congo will “remain hidden beneath the bonnet of every EV we drive”.

(Source: ‘Electric cell’, Noel Yaxley, 12/2/26, Spectator Australia)

ttbn,

Cobalt isn’t unique to EVs. It’s in phones, laptops and fossil fuel infrastructure too. So I hope you don't use any of those, either.

Moreover, EV battery chemistry is already reducing cobalt use, and industrial mining under supply-chain pressure is replacing some artisanal operations.

The real question whether transitioning away from fossil fuels reduces overall harm over time. Most lifecycle studies say yes.

A classic case of media amplifying moral urgency; (to some, click bate): It sells advertising.

Do we care about life in the Congo for anyone living there? Not normally.

The example of child labour is good as a stand alone example of it, but highlighting it to attack a green innovation of battery power etc, is unconvincing, but a good try.

Algorithms reward outrage; one can’t be too careful.
It’s a good idea to run these articles through an AI generators for a complex counter argument.
The article you quote is full of holes. If your interested I can nominate them.

Oh…Chatbot John’s at it, pretending to sound intelligent!

Fess-up Johnny Chatbot, there’s a good boy!