JAKARTA: Chinese companies investing in minerals used in the renewable energy industry have been accused of more than 100 human rights and environmental abuses around the world since 2021, according to a report released on Thursday (Jul 6).
China dominates the processing and refining of minerals critical to the transition to renewables – including copper, nickel and cobalt – and has poured investment into facilities in resource-rich countries such as Indonesia, Peru and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The Business & Human Rights Resource Centre, an international NGO, logged 102 alleged cases of abuse committed by Chinese firms involved in sourcing transitional minerals overseas between January 2021 and December 2022. More than a quarter allegedly took place in Indonesia.
“Our data shows human rights and environmental abuse is prevalent in the exploration, extraction and processing of transition minerals,” a spokesperson for the NGO said.
“Local communities are bearing the brunt of these abuses.”
Of the total alleged cases of abuse across 18 countries by Chinese firms, the NGO found 27 in Indonesia, 16 in Peru, 12 in DRC, 11 in Myanmar and seven in Zimbabwe.
China has been blamed for environmental damage and poor workers’ rights in Indonesia, where electric battery-producing companies hungry for nickel have worsened pollution and stoked tensions over sub-par working conditions at their facilities.