The world filled with portable devices and electric cars that we’ve come to rely upon is mostly powered with lithium-ion batteries. Most of the lithium-ion batteries we use require cobalt. Most of the cobalt that’s being used in these batteries is extracted from the ground in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and much of it is sent to China to be processed for the global market.
The Democratic Republic of Congo is currently a conflict zone, particularly in its eastern region where fighting between the army, various armed groups, and regional forces has created a dire humanitarian situation. This is where most of the cobalt used globally is currently mined, and it’s estimated that more than 40,000 children are forced to work in deadly conditions, mining with their bare hands for as little as $2.5/day.
The Blood Diamond initiative in the 1990s sought to raise awareness about, and eventually create systems to mitigate the use here in the U.S. of, so-called ‘blood’ or ‘conflict’ diamonds that were being mined in places like Sierra Leone and the DRC where workers were being mistreated and profits were fueling war.
Our guest was instrumental in the Blood Diamonds initiative, and is now leading the new Blood Battery Campaign that’s modelled after it. Click here to learn more about the brand new campaign.
Click here to listen to our conversation with Ambassador Hall in 2022 when he was the Keynote Speaker for the Southwest Florida Model UN being held at Florida Gulf Coast University.
Guest:
Tony Hall represented Ohio’s 3rd Congressional District from 1979 to 2002, and he served as US Ambassador to the United Nations Agencies for Food and Agriculture from 2002 to 2006. He is the U.S. Chair of the Blood Battery Campaign.
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