This event will screen the movie Cobalt Rush – The future of going green\, which investigates the human and environmental costs associated with the extraction of minerals for the transition to net zero.
The decarbonisation of the transportation sector is a vital component in achieving the goals set out in the Paris Agreement. Consequently\, governments around the world are pushing forward the transition away from combustion engine to electric vehicles. However\, the production of electric vehicles necessitates the use of raw materials\, such as cobalt. The movie sheds light into the human and environmental consequences of mining cobalt. Further\, the mineral deposits on land are highly concentrated in just a few countries\, making their global availability dependent on trade relationships and vulnerable to supply disruptions that may result from export restrictions\, political instability or natural disasters. Such supply challenges have the potential to delay the transition to net zero\, but also hold implications for the financial system and its stability.
Quentin Noirfalisse is a Belgian journalist\, director and documentary producer. He has directed four feature documentaries\, among them The Minister of Garbage (2017)\, Cobalt Rush (2022)\, Lumumba\, the return of a hero (2023) and After the rain (2024). He has produced more than 15 documentaries for theatrical releases and major European broadcasters (RTBF\, Canvas\, Arte). He specializes on corporate responsibility\, human rights\, supply chains\, natural resources\, climate inequalities and has a focus on the DR Congo\, where he has lived in 2009 and 2012 and has kept working on the major challenges the country is facing in the 21st century.
Richard Perkins is Associate Professor in the Department of Geography and Environment and an associate of the Grantham Research Institute for Climate Change and the Environment. Richard’s research interests focus on the governance of climate and environmental change by both public and private actors. His most recent work is concerned with interrogating sustainable/green finance.
Anneke Van Woudenberg is the Executive Director of corporate watchdog RAID\, a UK NGO which specializes in holding companies to account for human rights abuses and environmental harm. Previously she was the Deputy Africa Director at Human Rights Watch where for 14 years she led in-depth fact-finding on human rights violations across sub-Saharan Africa. She has testified at international war crimes trials\, briefed the UN Security Council\, the US Congress and the British and European parliaments\, and is a frequent commentator in the international press. Anneke has a Masters Degree in International Relations from the London School of Economics.
Elizabeth Robinson (@EJZRobinson66)\, is Director of the Grantham Research Institute at LSE.
Hashtag for this event: #LSEEvents
This public event is free and open to all. No ticket or pre-registration is required. Entry is on a first come\, first served basis.
For any queries email gri.events@lse.ac.uk
URL;VALUE=URI:https://www.lse.ac.uk/granthaminstitute/events/cobalt-rush-raw-materials-and-the-transition-to-net-zero/ SUMMARY:Cobalt rush: raw materials and the transition to net zero DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20241128T183000 END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR