Potential labour and human costs of a successful energy transition

Jessie Cato, natural resources and human rights programme manager at the Business and Human Rights Resource Centre, talks with Ian Welsh about the significant human rights risks that exist in the supply chains of low carbon technology manufacturers.

As demonstrated by the BHRRC’s tracker of companies producing six transition minerals – lithium, cobalt, copper, nickel, zinc and manganese – required for the manufacture of electric vehicles, solar panels and wind turbines, brands in the low-carbon sector need to take care to ensure transparency in their supply chains. A failure to do so could impact the speed at which their customers can reach their net-zero ambitions.