Lithium rush: The hidden costs of “green”electric vehicle production

This article examines the hidden social and environmental costs of lithium production for electric vehicles. Focusing on two key sites—the Salar de Atacama in Chile and Tesla’s Gigafactory in Grünheide, Germany—we show that the global push for green technologies is reproducing many of the same harms associated with fossil fuel extraction. In Chile, lithium mining depletes scarce water resources and threatens Indigenous communities, while in Germany, local residents raise concerns about water pollution and lack of public input in decision-making. Although governments have introduced regulations to improve sustainability—such as Chile’s National Lithium Strategy and Germany’s Supply Chain Due Diligence Act—these frameworks often fail to guarantee fair participation, transparency, or strong environmental protections. We argue that unless governance systems change fundamentally, the green energy transition will continue to follow extractivist patterns that harm vulnerable communities and ecosystems. To prevent this, we call for a new approach to governance that centers local communities, ensures meaningful participation, and creates shared decision-making processes across borders. A truly sustainable transition must address not just what materials we use, but how—and by whom—decisions about them are made.