The AGS Globe: The Hidden Costs of Green Technology: Cobalt, Lithium, and Nickel from the Global South
The American Geographical Society's Weekly Newsletter for July 8, 2025
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The Hidden Costs of Green Technology: Cobalt, Lithium, and Nickel from the Global South
Have you ever wondered how the phone in your hand works, what components and materials they are made of, and where they come from?
We are living in an increasingly technology-centric world, and technical advances are often presented to us as solutions to global issues. The green transition—the shift toward an environmentally, socially, and economically sustainable future to help combat climate change—has been facilitated in part by advancements made in clean energy technology, like solar power and electric vehicles (EVs).
However, there is a paradox at the heart of this so-called green transition: the technologies meant to move us away from extractive, polluting, and unsustainable systems still depend on those same systems.
Technology like the batteries that power EVs, the storage cells for solar power, and the magnets inside wind turbines rely on a wide range of “transition” minerals. Cobalt, lithium, and nickel in particular are key components of energy-storing batteries. These minerals are critical components of sought-after renewable technologies, accelerating a modern-day gold rush as companies race to bring them to global markets. To get them, we dig deep, even when it is at a great cost.
Cobalt—a hard, shiny silvery-blue metal that offers high stability is an essential component of lithium-ion batteries, used in everything from electric vehicles to smartphones. Over 70% of the world’s cobalt supply comes from one place: the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Both the West and China are investing heavily in African mining and processing facilities for transition minerals, especially in the DRC.
In recent decades, hundreds of thousands of Congolese have relocated to Southern Congo in search of the mineral, with some even digging under their homes and forming networks of underground tunnels within communities. While most cobalt is extracted from industrial mines, an estimated 15-30% comes from small-scale “artisanal” mines. These mines often involve children and adults using basic tools in hazardous, unregulated conditions with minimal protection, high risks, and low wages. The mineral-rich eastern region of the DRC has been in persistent conflict since the Rwandan genocide in 1994. Revenue generated from cobalt sales fuels rebel factions, while other militant groups are drawn to the region in pursuit of its vast mineral wealth.
Lightweight and highly reactive, lithium enables electric batteries to store and release energy efficiently, powering our phones, laptops, and electric cars. Nowhere on Earth is lithium more abundant than the Lithium Triangle, with Bolivia’s salt flats at its heart.
The Salar de Uyuni, the world’s largest salt flat, sits atop vast lithium reserves, earning Bolivia a place in the Lithium Triangle alongside Chile and Argentina. Unlike hard rock mining, lithium is extracted through brine evaporation. This method consumes huge amounts of water in an arid region, threatening local ecosystems and Indigenous farming communities that rely on groundwater for crops and livelihoods. Additionally, advocacy groups have raised concerns such as untested equipment and lack of expertise by facility operators.
Despite only having 7 percent of global lithium reserves, China has invested billions into the Lithium Triangle, as it processes nearly 80 percent of the world’s lithium and produces 60 percent of the world’s electric vehicle batteries. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently visited Buenos Aires to discuss concessions and investments in lithium, copper, and rare earth elements (REEs) with Argentine President Javier Milei.
Nickel enhances the performance, energy capacity, and lifespan of lithium-ion batteries. Indonesia is now the world’s largest producer of nickel, and its tropical islands have become ground zero for the metal’s boom. The nation's mines feature diverse ownership structures, though Chinese investment dominates approximately 70% of Indonesian nickel projects.
Expanding to industrial scale in the 1960s, mining for nickel began in Indonesia with small-scale exploratory operations during the Dutch East Indies era. Nowadays it’s a multi-billion dollar industry, as Indonesia produced 2.2 million metric tons of nickel in 2024. Despite bringing employment and economic growth, there is clear evidence that nickel mining and processing threatens human rights and community livelihoods, as well as causing environmental degradation. The nickel industry is the cause of significant deforestation, widespread air and water pollution, and substantial greenhouse gas emissions from coal-powered processing plants.
Looking more closely at the extraction, refinement, and production processes of transition minerals reveals their many social and environmental costs. As increasing demand for new technologies, renewable energy, and electrification leads us to dig deeper and deeper into the Earth for these minerals, those at the mining frontlines will carry the brunt of these costs.
Sources:
Climate Rights International (2025) Indonesia: Nickel Industry Harming Human Rights and the Environment. Press Release, June 5. Available at: https://cri.org/indonesia-nickel-industry-harming-human-rights-and-the-environment/
Radwin, Maxwell. (2024) Rapid growth of Bolivia’s lithium industry creating new problems for local communities. Mongabay, April 15. Available at: https://news.mongabay.com/2024/04/rapid-growth-of-bolivias-lithium-industry-creating-new-problems-for-local-communities/
Siahaan, Mona. (2024) Mine production of nickel in Indonesia from 2010 to 2023. Statista, August 7. Available at: https://www.statista.com/statistics/260757/indonesian-mine-production-of-nickel-since-2006/
Owen, John & Kemp, Deanna & Lechner, Alex & Harris, Jill & Zhang, Ruilian & Lèbre, Eléonore. (2022) Energy transition minerals and their intersection with land-connected peoples. Nature Sustainability. 6. 10.1038/s41893-022-00994-6.
Campbell, John. (2020) Why Cobalt Mining in the DRC Needs Urgent Attention. Council on Foreign Relations, October 29. Available at: https://www.cfr.org/blog/why-cobalt-mining-drc-needs-urgent-attention
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