Bill Text: CA SJR15 | 2023-2024 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Alternatives to lithium and cobalt mined in Africa using child slave labor.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)
Status: (Engrossed) 2024-06-24 - In Assembly. Held at Desk. [SJR15 Detail]
Download: California-2023-SJR15-Introduced.html
CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE—
2023–2024 REGULAR SESSION
Senate Joint Resolution
No. 15
| Introduced by Senator Bradford (Coauthor: Assembly Member Garcia) |
April 18, 2024 |
Relative to lithium and cobalt mining.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SJR 15, as introduced, Bradford.
Alternatives to lithium and cobalt mined in Africa using child slave labor.
This measure would urge the President and Congress of the United States to enact legislation to halt the importation of lithium and cobalt, or any product using those minerals, mined in Africa using child slave labor and to encourage the production of lithium, cobalt, and other critical minerals ethically sourced from within the United States.
Digest Key
Fiscal Committee: NOBill Text
WHEREAS, People around the world increasingly rely on rechargeable batteries to power mobile phones, all-electric vehicles, laptop computers, and other portable devices; and
WHEREAS, Lithium and cobalt are critical minerals used in batteries for energy storage and electric vehicles, making them vital to achieving a net-zero carbon goal; and
WHEREAS, The growing global market for portable electronic devices and rechargeable batteries is driving the increasing demand for the extraction of lithium and cobalt; and
WHEREAS, Virtually all of the lithium used in the United States is produced outside the country and most is mined in Argentina, Chile, China, and Australia; and
WHEREAS, The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is the source of more than two-thirds of the world’s cobalt; and
WHEREAS, The use of child slave labor has become inextricably linked to the mining and collection of cobalt ore; and
WHEREAS, The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) estimated in 2014 that approximately 40,000 boys and girls work in all the mines across the southern DRC, many of them involved in cobalt mining; and
WHEREAS, According to a report completed by the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), DRC authorities lack the financial and human resources to perform controls and prosecute offenders who make use of child labor. There is no dedicated inspectorate charged with carrying out child labor controls; and
WHEREAS, Companies involved in the lithium battery supply chain are aiding and abetting in the death and serious injury of child slaves who extract cobalt to further their environmental goals; and
WHEREAS, The United States is a ratifying member of the Convention Concerning the Prohibition and Immediate Action for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labor; and
WHEREAS, The use of child labor to support the mining for cobalt in the manufacturing of lithium used to power electric vehicles should not be ignored; and
WHEREAS, There is estimated to be about 1,000,000 tons of cobalt resources in the United States. Most of these resources are located in Minnesota, but other important occurrences are located in Alaska, California, Idaho, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, Oregon, and Pennsylvania; and
WHEREAS, The opening of Australia-based Jervois Global’s facility in Idaho, which is near the site of a defunct cobalt open pit mine, is being hailed by state and federal officials pushing to fast track development of minerals that support domestic and national security; and
WHEREAS, Potential commercially available substitutes for cobalt exist that utilize nickel, manganese, or iron. All of these substitutes are more abundant than cobalt; and
WHEREAS, Seventy-six percent of cobalt and approximately 50 percent of lithium were imported in 2020; and
WHEREAS, According to a report from the Energy Commission, the Salton Sea region in the County of Imperial, also known as “Lithium Valley,” has the highest concentration of lithium contained in geothermal brine in the world; and
WHEREAS, The Salton Sea geothermal system contains a proven total dissolved lithium content of 4,100,000 metric tons of lithium carbonate equivalent, and the estimated total resource is 18,000,000 metric tons of lithium carbonate equivalent, which can be processed into battery grade lithium; and
WHEREAS, The Salton Sea could hold enough lithium to potentially produce sufficient material for 375,000,000 electric vehicles; and
WHEREAS, Selling lithium from the geothermal brine as a byproduct may also lower the cost of geothermal power, making it more competitive with other renewable sources of energy such as wind and solar; and
WHEREAS, People living near proposed lithium projects already suffer disproportionately from air pollution caused by industrial agriculture and dust from the exposed lakebed of the receding Salton Sea, and indigenous communities have raised concerns about potential impacts to cultural sites at the Salton Sea; and
WHEREAS, The United States Department of Energy suggested in a 100-day supply chain review report that the public and private sectors should consider increased domestic production when strong labor standards and environmental protections are applied to support economically viable domestic extraction; and
WHEREAS, Domestic lithium and cobalt extraction is key to national security during our transition to clean energy. The United States Department of Defense has entered into an agreement to expand domestic lithium mining for battery supply chains in the United States; and
WHEREAS, Large-scale mining has the potential to provide economic benefits in the form of taxes and jobs, and the sector remains linked to major human rights abuses, gender-based violence, environmental harm, corruption, and political capture; and
WHEREAS, It is imperative that future mining only proceed with the full support and consent of indigenous people and frontline communities; and
WHEREAS, The United States should take immediate action to eliminate its participation in the rechargeable battery supply chain that perpetuates human rights abuses and child slave labor; now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the Senate and the Assembly of the State of California, jointly, That the Legislature recognizes its duty to protect against human rights abuses; and be it further
Resolved, That the Legislature urges the President and Congress of the United States to enact legislation that halts the importation of lithium, cobalt, or any product containing lithium or cobalt obtained using child slave labor; and be it further
Resolved, That the Legislature urges the President and Congress of the United States to encourage the production of lithium, cobalt, and other critical minerals ethically sourced from within the United States; and be it further
Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of this resolution to the President and Vice President of the United States, to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, to the Majority Leader of the Senate, to each Senator and Representative from California in the Congress of the United States, and to the author for appropriate distribution.
