We hope you are staying healthy and safe during this challenging time.
April 2020
Building a Sustainable Electric Vehicle Battery Supply Chain
As California and other leading jurisdictions accelerate the transition to electric vehicles, questions are arising about the long-term sustainability of the battery supply chain. CLEE and the Natural Resource Governance Institute are collaborating on a research initiative to identify governance solutions to these questions. Our new FAQ document describes the structure of the supply chain and addresses key sustainability risks, with preliminary findings including:
The greenhouse gas emissions benefits of EVs are clear and will grow as global electricity supplies become increasingly less carbon-intensive.
The supply chain is complex and subject to a number of potential bottlenecks where few countries or companies are responsible for dominant shares of production.
Various stages of the supply chain in locations around the world present sustainability risks, from low-level corruption to displacement of local populations. These risks are not unique to EV mineral extraction-and a number of global initiatives are working to address them.
However, supply chain players will need to significantly improve coordination and data-sharing efforts to achieve long-term sustainability.
CLEE and NRGI will release a full report later this year building on these findings and offering policy recommendations to address key risks.
We have switched all of our in-person events to virtual sessions for the coming months. In May, we'd love you to join us for a Learn & Learn with CLEE's Ethan Elkind, Patrick Heller, and Ted Lamm. They will lead a discussion and Q&A session on the road to a sustainable EV battery supply chain. The session will highlight the main takeaways from our new report,Building A Sustainable Electric Vehicle Battery Supply Chain.
How is COVID-19 affecting the future of the public transit sector? Ethan Elkind comments in the San Diego Union-Tribune.
Dr. Fauci has become a a public health leader in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis. In Legal Planet, Dan Farber writes that we need a similar leading figure for environmental issues.
