Finance for transition mineral mining is driving destruction and abuse, says report

A rare earth mine in Ganxian county, Jiangxi province, China. Institutions funding the extraction of minerals for the clean-energy transition have ‘dangerously weak’ ESG policies, says a report. Photograph: AP

The financing of transition mineral mining is driving widespread environmental destruction and human rights abuses, according to a report.

Banks and investors have ploughed hundreds of billions of dollars into companies mining for minerals for the manufacture of solar panels, wind turbines, batteries, energy grids and electric vehicles in the past decade, according to the research.