Cobalt mining and the corporate outsourcing of responsibility in the Democratic Republic of Congo

Calvão, Filipe; Mcdonald, Catherine Erica Alexina; Bolay, Matthieu

doi:10.1016/j.exis.2021.02.004

Cited by 40 publications

(32 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…And like all electric cars, AVs will depend heavily on the extraction of rare earth minerals from seafloor deposits and regions of the developing world. For example, worldwide demand for cobalt has skyrocketed due to its importance in batteries of electric cars, with countries such as the Democratic Republic of Congo becoming targets of major international investment [41]. Beyond greenhouse gas emissions, AV fleets will bring the geopolitics of mineral markets into scope for development -analogous to how 21st century trends in offshore production and increasing consumer awareness have forced consumer-facing businesses to audit their own supply chains for environmental, sustainability, and human rights concerns.…”

Section: Environmental Impactsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sociotechnical Specification for the Broader Impacts of Autonomous Vehicles

Gilbert¹,

Snoswell²,

Dennis³

et al. 2022

Preprint

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Autonomous Vehicles (AVs) will have a transformative impact on society. Beyond the local safety and efficiency of individual vehicles, these effects will also change how people interact with the entire transportation system. This will generate a diverse range of large and foreseeable effects on social outcomes, as well as how those outcomes are distributed. However, the ability to control both the individual behavior of AVs and the overall flow of traffic also provides new affordances that permit AVs to control these effects. This comprises a problem of sociotechnical specification: the need to distinguish which essential features of the transportation system are in or out of scope for AV development. We present this problem space in terms of technical, sociotechnical, and social problems, and illustrate examples of each for the transport system components of social mobility, public infrastructure, and environmental impacts. The resulting research methodology sketches a path for developers to incorporate and evaluate more transportation system features within AV system components over time.

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Section: Environmental Impactsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sociotechnical Specification for the Broader Impacts of Autonomous Vehicles

Gilbert¹,

Snoswell²,

Dennis³

et al. 2022

Preprint

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show abstract

“…However, accelerated temporalities, multiple risks and a complex web of exploitation negatively impact well-being and social relations among miners and other stakeholders inside and outside the mining sphere. Co-operatives and attempts at formalization have only done more to obscure the structural inequality resulting from industrial exploitation (Bernards 2021;Calvão et al 2021;Hönke 2010). In this context, the launch of the Congolese Entreprise Générale du Cobalt (EGC) in 2021 might seem a promising initiative.…”

Section: Social and Health Impacts Of Cobalt Asmmentioning

confidence: 99%

The invisible lives of cobalt miners and green traceability discourses

Panella¹,

Putter²

2022

Anthropology Today

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The mobilization for greenhouse gas reduction has significantly boosted our interest in electric cars and green mobility. E‐powered technology and lithium‐ion (Li‐ion) batteries are now cornerstones of our green tech discourse. These technologies rest on the fast‐growing demand for rare metals such as cobalt, an essential component in Li‐ion batteries. This article focuses on the invisible lives of the artisanal diggers who mine much of the world's cobalt in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Their lives in Katanga fade behind the ore they produce. In the dominant green energy discourse, these workers become invisible actors whose corporeality, work and struggle are concealed and denied. We risk smothering cobalt miners’ human rights under an ecologically friendly banner.

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“…The geographical distribution of these raw materials may also raise important issues. For example, the Democratic Republic of Congo owns approximately 50% of the world resources of cobalt, 4 while the main resources of lithium are located in South America, 2,5 and any political instability can signicantly affect the price/availability of these materials. Driven by these limitations and to avoid a possible battery crisis, researchers have focused on more abundant, cheaper, and safer alternatives based on different technologies, including Li-S, Li-air, K, and Na.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%