Highlighting the Neglected Dimensions of the Energy Transition: The Case of Cobalt
By Neeraja Kulkarni
The deployment of renewable energy is vital to achieve a country’s Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and address climate change. Demand for improved, efficient, and affordable renewable energy technologies will skyrocket. One of the minerals responsible for increased efficiency, not only in clean energy technology but in most modern technologies, is cobalt.
Historically used for pottery and art, cobalt’s use transformed during the launch of lithium-ion batteries in the early 2000s. As a result, the global demand for cobalt is set to double by 2030, forming a supply deficit of 32%. Approximately 70% of the cobalt used in modern technology is mined in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). However, mining activities have fueled human rights violations in the DRC, including economic vulnerability, conflict, rape, child labor, and food insecurity.
Much of the DRC’s postcolonial history (1990s – 1990s) is plagued by authoritarian rule, turbulent politics, and several financial crises (1960s-1995). As a resource-rich nation with increasing demand intertwined with heavy political influence from transnational stakeholders the DRC solidified its mining-based economy in a technocratic and kleptocratic trend embedded during colonial Dutch-occupied Belgian Congo.
Today, around 2 million miners in the DRC are categorized as Small and rtisanal Miners (ASM), which are similar to freelance miners. These miners have been given certain rights via the Miner Code of 2002 and the Revised Code in 2018. For instance, special zones, or AEZ, have been formed and reserved for ASM, but these typically do not contain overly valuable mineral deposits or are inoperable. Further, the National Guard often forces economically disadvantaged villagers to participate in mining activities, just one example of a modern form of slavery. Further, on a local level, a hybrid form of governance ensures that the trickled money accumulates with mining chiefs or elites, affecting household poverty negatively.
The violence attached to cobalt has been analogized with the rubber extraction in Belgium-occupied Congo or Red Rubber. This terminology inspired renowned author Siddharth Kara to refer to this 21st-century violence as Cobalt Red in his book, subtitled, “The Blood of Congo..” which is embedded in the cobalt that “powers our lives.” In 2024, the International Rescue Committee (IRC) declared that the DRC was one of the most dangerous places for women and girls, with rising instances of rape and other forms of violence. It is a matter of grave concern that the global environmental movement, which is closely associated with modern feminist ideologies, is facilitating chronic aggression against women.
Violence, slavery, and labor exploitation are not limited to women. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, approximately 25,000 children work in the cobalt mines in the DRC. Other sources have noted that 40,000 children are solely involved as slave labor in cobalt mines. Children working in mines are exposed to toxic chemicals like uranium and manganese, which can negatively affect health and development. Further, as tunnels are susceptible to collapse, miners, including children, are often found buried alive inside. ASM are the most suppressed groups in the DRC. However, formalizing them is almost impossible.
In an effort to formalize ASM activities, the DRC introduced two state-owned entities: General Cobalt Company (EGC) and the Authority for the Regulation and Control of Strategic Mineral Substances Markets (ARECOMS). EGC is responsible for all artisanal cobalt supply chains in DRC; however, progress has been stagnant. They have been unable to culminate illegal mining trading counters, particularly in Kowelzi, the “Cobalt Capital” of the DRC. The lack of financial transparency at all stages of governance in cobalt mining acts as a barrier to streamlining supply chains.
Another dimension of the ever-increasing economic reliance on mining in the DRC is the depleting environmental conditions, including deforestation that leads to infertile lands, water pollution that can have unprecedented harmful consequences on public health, and poaching that unequivocally threatens wildlife. The increasing number of open mine sites, toxicity, and air pollution negatively impact agricultural practices negatively, and around 40 million people (70% of the population) depend on farming for their livelihoods. Additionally, rampant land grabs from Indigenous Peoples clubbed with a mining-dominated economy restrain the economic mobility of the Congolese, calling out for much-needed industrial policies that promote economic diversification.
The public-private partnerships accentuating the deployment of renewable energy technology have led to a form of fortification for giant tech companies, where almost no legal mechanism exists that can hold the highest value-extracting institutions accountable for such atrocities. In March 2024, former child Congolese miners lost a legal battle against prominent tech corporations such as Apple and Tesla for their negligence of human rights. The U.S. Court sided with the corporations, stating that they were not responsible for the human rights violations and had no control over the supply chains in Congo, even though the cobalt was sourced from the DRC.
The international community today faces grave challenges in terms of ensuring that the cobalt supply chain is free of child labor, violence against women, and environmental harm. The supply chains of cobalt and its journey into renewable energy technologies are so erratic that several governments are perplexed about finding definitive solutions to address such intractable issues. Further, the increasing dependence on has led to geopolitical concerns for the United States. Merely soft law exercised by global governments, such as the UN Guiding Principles for Business and Human Rights and OECD Due Diligence Guidance, has proven insufficient. Accountability mechanisms must be built for all actors and institutions associated with the cobalt value chain and other transition minerals.
The case of cobalt is a warning that intractable patterns of repression can emerge from technological advancements. Proceeding with the energy transition towards the Net Zero Goals and SDGs at the heavy cost of these mining communities contradicts the sustainable development movement. We need to strategize transnational and multi-disciplinary solutions where the rewards of mining cobalt are redistributed among the Congolese to improve their socio-economic and human development outcomes. Given the complex nature of this issue, sustainable cobalt might seem like an impossible goal; however, we must make every effort today to break this cycle of repression toward a sustainable future for both the people and the planet.
Neeraja Kulkarni received a Master’s in Global Affairs from The Fletcher School, Tufts University.