Financial Times

Ethics of cobalt mining must be taken seriously by traders

Western governments and businesses are renewing their focus on energy independence as a strategic imperative. One way is to shift transportation from fossil fuels to battery power, which requires an increase in cobalt mining (an indispensable ingredient in lithium-ion batteries for electric cars and trucks). A new article published in the Financial Times draws attention to advancing human rights in cobalt sourcing.

Written by GSEM Professor Dorothée Baumann-Pauly and Professor Michael Posner (NYU Stern Center for Business and Human Rights), the article highlights the need for formalization of artisanal mining to reduce child labor and improve mine safety, and the importance of buyers and traders supporting the creation of standards and metrics to govern the cobalt mining process, consistent with international labor and human rights standards.

> To read the Financial Times article, please click on the link