Electric Vehicles: A Green Revolution or Hidden Crisis?

Author: Emma Nelson

April 16, 2025

[Image credit: VectorMine via Mashable]

As climate disasters intensify across the globe and the UN’s directive to achieve climate neutrality by 2050 looms, the push for a renewable energy transition has gained unprecedented urgency. Electric vehicles (EVs) have emerged as a promising pathway toward a more sustainable future. Free from reliance on fossil fuels, EVs offer a solution to the challenges posed by the transportation sector, which alone is responsible for more than a quarter of the United States’ greenhouse gas emissions. Their prominence on the road is only expected to grow, with EVs projected to account for 40-50% of all passenger car sales by 2030. 

Many governments have launched initiatives to support this effort. For example, the Inflation Reduction Act, a landmark climate and sustainability bill passed by the Biden Administration in 2022, offers a $7,500 tax credit for those purchasing EVs. Benefiting both the environment and consumers’ finances, these battery-powered vehicles seem to be an ideal step forward. However, a closer look into the production process and supply chain of EVs reveals an underbelly rife with human rights abuses and inadvertent environmental degradation.

The key component powering an electric vehicle is its battery, a complex unit made up of critical minerals such as cobalt, lithium, and nickel. A 2024 Amnesty International Report assessing the human rights practices of 13 leading EV manufacturers revealed significant ethical shortcomings in the mining of these minerals. None of the companies assessed scored above 51 out of 90. Key manufacturer BYD received the lowest score of 11. 

Tracing the origins of the critical minerals in EV batteries confirms these concerning rankings. The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), responsible for 70% of the world’s cobalt production, is home to mines operating under appalling conditions. Miners work in perilous, makeshift pits, using rudimentary tools to extract cobalt while being exposed to toxic dust linked to chronic lung diseases. These laborers are often under the control of exploitative operators who offer no healthcare or compensation for job-related injuries.

Despite the DRC’s vast reserves of this critical resource, 86.5% of its population lives on less than $3.20 a day, with many cobalt miners earning as little as $1 daily. Many of these workers are children as young as seven years old. A U.S. Department of Labor report revealed that 36% of children aged five to fourteen in the DRC are employed in the mining sector. The abuses extend beyond the DRC. In Guinea, mining for bauxite (an essential tool in producing aluminum), has displaced farmers and destroyed vital water sources. In Guatemala, nickel mining has similarly been associated with displacement, as well as sexual violence and murder. These human rights abuses persist largely because weak governance structures and widespread corruption enable mining companies and their hired security and police to act with impunity, using intimidation, violence, and sexual assault to silence workers, indigenous communities, and environmental activists resisting land destruction. 

Further, despite EVs promoting a facade of environmental progress and sustainability, significant environmental injustices are embedded in their production and operation. The extraction and processing of the critical minerals needed to produce EV batteries is extremely energy-intensive. China currently dominates the refining stage, but relies primarily on coal power to do so, emitting large quantities of greenhouse gases in the process. Indonesia also produces significant amounts of toxic waste and carbon emissions with the acid-leaching technology they employ in nickel mining. The practice generates 20 tons of carbon dioxide per ton of nickel. Lithium extraction poses a similar harm, depleting freshwater resources, disrupting ecosystems, and often forcing Indigenous communities out of their native lands. In South America’s “lithium triangle,” which covers Argentina, Bolivia, and Chile, mining projects frequently develop on Indigenous territories. 

The EV market is only expected to grow. The International Energy Agency (IEA) predicts a sevenfold increase in demand for the critical metals necessary for EV battery production, and minerals could run scarce as early as 2025. This exponential growth will likely exacerbate the unsafe and detrimental practices associated with the mining of these minerals.

Further, abuses do not exist solely in the production process of EVs. The inequitable rollout of EV infrastructure further amplifies environmental injustices. Low-income communities and communities of color, already facing disproportionate exposure to pollution, are often excluded from the benefits of electrification. Charging stations primarily reside in affluent areas, denying marginalized groups the opportunity to participate in the transition to EVs.

In areas where charging stations depend on fossil fuel-generated electricity, EVs may lose their potential climate benefits all together. A Wall Street Journal report reveals that the carbon dioxide emitted from powering an EV in China renders the car’s environmental advantages almost nonexistent. This issue is not unique to China; countries such as Germany and Japan, reliant on Russian natural gas, face similar challenges, with their carbon footprint of EVs exceeding that of nations like France or the United States.

The end-of-life stage of EVs introduces new environmental and human rights concerns. The recycling and disposal of EV batteries is a complex process that is often poorly managed. Hazardous waste is frequently exported to low- and middle-income countries that rarely possess the infrastructure and regulations needed to safely process it. This results in environmental damage and health risks for the populations affected. Disparities in risk exposure between countries sending and receiving the waste underscores the systemic inequities in the global EV supply chain, with wealthy countries benefiting from EVs and developing nations suffering from their use.

To fully deliver on their promise of sustainability, EV corporations must conduct comprehensive life-cycle and emissions analyses. Without critical evaluations of the human rights abuses littered in the production process, the EV industry will continue to perpetuate environmental and human injustices under the guise of green innovation. Currently, no country mandates full supply chain reporting. However, governments and policymakers are beginning to take action, with the European Union and the United States introducing measures to ensure that automakers source materials ethically. 

The European Union has put forth regulations that would require battery manufacturers to identify and mitigate risks associated with the extraction of key resources such as cobalt, lithium, nickel, and graphite. U.S. tax incentives for EVs, as outlined in the Inflation Reduction Act, now require manufacturers to source a portion of battery components domestically or from free trade partners. It is the responsibility of car manufacturers, however, to secure minerals ethically and hold suppliers accountable. The transition to renewable energy cannot come at the cost of human dignity and environmental integrity.

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Glossary

• Climate neutrality- achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions, meaning the amount of greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere is offset by the amount removed

• EV- electric vehicle

• Inflation Reduction Act- A federal law in 2022 aiming to reduce the federal government budget deficit, lower prescription drug prices, and invest in domestic and clean energy production.

• Rife- widespread or abundant, typically in a negative context

• Perilous- full of danger or risk

• Rudimentary- not developed, something basic and simple

• Lithium Triangle- region between Argentina, Bolivia, and Chile that is rich in lithium reserves

• International Energy Agency- intergovernmental organization established in 1974 to aid its 31 member countries and 13 association countries in addressing energy challenges and promoting a sustainable energy future

• Electrification- converts an energy-consuming device, system, or sector from non-electric sources of energy to electric

• Negate- to cancel out or make something ineffective

• Carbon footprint- a measure of the amount of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere as a result of the actions of a particular individual, organization, or community

• Free trade- international trade free of tariffs or other trade barriers

• Renewable energy- energy made from natural resources that are not depleted when used (solar energy, wind power, hydropower, etc)