Zero Emissions, Full Morgue

The Supply Chain Your Dashboard Doesn’t Show

Your electric vehicle produces zero tailpipe emissions. That is a fact. It is also the beginning and end of what the “zero emissions” badge tells you. It does not tell you about the estimated 40,000 children working in artisanal cobalt mines in the Democratic Republic of the Congo—some as young as six—earning $1–2 per day, digging with bare hands in tunnels that descend 100 metres without safety equipment.

That number—40,000—comes from UNICEF estimates circa 2012, repeated in Amnesty International’s landmark 2016 report. No independent updated census has been conducted since. The real number could be higher. [PARTIALLY VERIFIED]

We would not send the children of Cupertino to scrounge for cobalt in toxic pits, so why is it permissible to send the children of the Congo? — Siddharth Kara, Cobalt Red (2023)

The Numbers at the Mine Face

In February 2024, researchers from the University of Bath published fieldwork from Kolwezi and Likasi—the epicentre of DRC’s cobalt belt. The findings are systematic, not anecdotal.

In November 2025, a makeshift bridge at the Kalando mine in Lualaba province collapsed, killing at least 32 people. Despite a formal ban on access due to landslide risk, wildcat miners had forced their way in. Soldiers at the site fired gunshots, causing panic. This is one incident that happened to be reported.

The ESG Report vs. the River

Tesla leads the 2026 Lead the Charge Leaderboard with a score of 49%—the best in the industry, for the second consecutive year. Tesla discloses that more than 55% of its cobalt is sourced directly from mines or smelters with binding social and environmental requirements.

The other 45% goes through intermediaries with limited visibility. And 49% as a top score means even the industry leader fails more than half the assessed criteria.

Meanwhile, RAID UK tested the rivers near Kolwezi’s mines in March 2024. Of five water bodies assessed, all were polluted by acidified industrial waste. The Katapula and Kalenge rivers were classified as “hyper-acidic.” The Dipeta and Dilala rivers were “very acidic.” None of the four can host fish. Their water is toxic for human and animal consumption.

The ESG report says “sustainable.” The river says “hyper-acidic.”

The Lawsuit That Failed

In December 2019, International Rights Advocates filed a lawsuit against Apple, Alphabet, Dell, Microsoft, and Tesla on behalf of fourteen DRC families. The companies were accused of knowingly benefiting from child labour in cobalt mines. The named plaintiffs included children who had been paralysed or lost limbs in mine collapses.

In March 2024, the US Court of Appeals ruled 3-0 in favour of the companies, holding that they could not be held liable for more than an “ordinary buyer-seller transaction” with suppliers. The lawsuit was dismissed. The children are still digging.

What the Industry Gets Right

Intellectual honesty requires acknowledging real progress. The industry IS reducing cobalt dependency. LFP batteries—which contain zero cobalt—now represent roughly 40% of global EV batteries. The average cobalt per battery has dropped from ~12 kg in 2018 to ~4.8 kg in 2023. Sodium-ion batteries (cobalt-free, lithium-free) are entering production.

The EU Battery Regulation, effective February 2027, will mandate mine-of-origin traceability for cobalt, lithium, nickel, and graphite. This is the most significant regulatory development in supply chain governance.

But a declining trend line does not retroactively address the conditions under which cobalt is mined today. And “today” is a six-year-old in a tunnel in Kolwezi.