Achieving net zero extracts a high cost

IN a recent letter, Andrew Blewett dodged the question of whether he was ashamed that he can afford to decarbonise his lifestyle whereas others can’t put food on the table.

His response deftly shifted the reader’s attention whilst leaving the original issue unanswered.

Specifically: “I judge that I have a responsibility to do what I can personally to decarbonise my life.”

It’s easy to understand why that simple question necessitated such a response. There are several other issues that are similarly uncomfortable. Consider, for example: To “decarbonise my life” I must espouse, among other things, wind turbines and lithium-ion batteries. Most turbines contain an element called neodymium.

Globally, China is the biggest producer. Neodymium extraction destructively clears huge acreages of land. It produces thousands of tons of toxic waste. It results in lakes of poisonous aqueous sludge.

Processing uses electricity from coal-fired power stations that puke CO2 into the atmosphere. Chinese neodymium workers toil long hours, under appalling conditions. They suffer dermatological and respiratory conditions.

The cathodes of many lithium-ion batteries contain cobalt. The Democratic Republic of Congo is the world’s main producer of cobalt ore. More than a third is mined by what is euphemistically termed “artisanal” methods. In reality, this means manually. Men, women and children (as young as six) use hand tools to dig the stuff out.

I wonder what a Chinese miner or Congolese artisan would say if I were to preach that such servitude is essential because his/her life will get infinitely worse if we fail to “decarbonise our lives”.

Bob Berrisford