Global Witness warns that mining for green energy is fuelling conflict and human rights abuses in Asia and elsewhere, urging tougher standards and protections
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A Papuan activist painted with the Morning Star flag protests in Jakarta, March 2017, against US mining giant Freeport-McMoRan’s exploitation of Indonesia’s Papua province. A new report links the green energy mineral rush to displacement, environmental harm and rights abuses across Asia and elsewhere (Image: Achmad Ibrahim / Associated Press / Alamy)
Mining minerals to meet global green energy goals is sparking conflict in Asia and elsewhere, uprooting communities, harming the environment and violating human rights, according to a new report by Global Witness.
“We see everything from people protesting about environmental effects, about their land being taken from them, and human rights abuses, to miners themselves having disputes with companies about, for example, lack of payment or poor working conditions,” said Emily Iona Stewart, head of policy and European Union relations at Global Witness, an international NGO focused on exposing environmental and human rights abuses in resource industries.
The report – co-produced with African Resources Watch and Jaringan Advokasi Tambang – found that mining for critical minerals like lithium, cobalt, nickel and copper, essential for electric vehicles, wind turbines, solar panels and electric grids, was linked to 334 incidents of violence, protests and deaths between 2021 and 2023. 90% of those occurred in emerging economies.
