ACT NOW: Call on Canada to power a just energy future. | View in browser.

Dear John,

The global climate crisis is an unprecedented human rights crisis. The scale and urgency of this crisis require governments to drive the shift from fossil fuel dependency to a renewable, accessible and just energy future as quickly as possible.

Rechargeable batteries are key to this transition. Unfortunately, batteries currently on the market, like lithium-ion batteries, carry a hefty price tag: people in countries where battery minerals are mined and processed report human rights abuses and environmental harms.   

Governments and companies are at a crossroads: will our energy transition repeat harmful practices that have defined decades of mineral extraction, or will climate solutions respect human rights?     

Right now, we have an opportunity to get this right. We can choose an energy revolution that does not come at the expense of human rights.   

You can demand a better future right now. Call on Canada’s Ministers of Innovation, Science and Technology and Environment and Climate Change to ensure that clean energy innovations respect human rights.

The rechargeable lithium-ion batteries that power our cars, computers and smartphones contain mined materials, such as lithium, cobalt and nickel. The demand for these materials is projected to grow exponentially within the next decade. 

Currently, companies that manufacture rechargeable batteries do not know if people’s human rights have been abused to make their products. Governments and businesses in the supply chain too often cut corners by undermining human rights standards, safety regulations, and environmental precautions, in the pursuit of profits.  

Previous Amnesty research exposed how cobalt mined by children in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) could be entering the supply chains of some of the world’s biggest electronic and electric vehicle brands, while in South America, evidence points to lithium extraction posing risks to Indigenous peoples’ sovereignty, water resources and fragile ecosystems. 

 

 

Canada is a world leader in lithium exploration and mining. Canadian companies have a clear responsibility to ensure their operations don’t harm human rights, including the rights of Indigenous peoples whose traditional territories they wish to exploit.   

That’s why we’re launching our Recharge for Rights campaign, to call on Canada to be a leader in ensuring that our future power needs are not fuelled by human rights abuse or environmental destruction.  

Please urge Canada to act boldly for a just energy transition – by enforcing environmental protection laws, investigating allegations of abuses, and making human rights due diligence a legal requirement.

Putting corporate interests above protecting human rights and the environment has been the status quo for too long. The result is shocking global inequality, devastating climate change, and a seemingly endless stream of bad news about the future.   

It doesn’t have to be this way. This is a critical moment to rethink the way our economies and industries operate. As we move towards post-pandemic recovery, we have a chance to build a fairer and more sustainable future.   

Thank you for adding your voice to the call for Canada to show leadership by supporting investments and lasting energy solutions that sacrifice neither people nor the planet.  

In solidarity and hope, 

Tara Scurr  
Business & Human Rights Campaigner  
Amnesty International Canada  
 

P.S. Yesterday, Amnesty International and more than 50 organizations from around the world published Powering Change, recommendations for how businesses and governments can ensure clean, green and ethical battery supply chains. Please call on the Canadian government to endorse these principles and act now to ensure a just energy transition.