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A lithium mining machine moves a salt by-product at the mine in the Atacama Desert in Salar de Atacama, Chili on October 25, 2022.
"As demand for electric vehicles increases, manufacturers must ensure people's human rights are respected."
A transition away from the fossil fuels that have powered vehicles across the globe for decades, worsening the climate emergency, is sorely needed—but an analysis out Tuesday warns that companies spearheading the shift toward electric vehicles must do so while obeying internationally recognized human rights principles, and exposes how the firms have exploited communities in pursuit of minerals for EV batteries.
In a new report, Recharge for Rights, Amnesty International ranked the human rights records of 13 major EV manufacturers, including China-based BYD, Mercedes-Benz, Tesla, and Mitsubishi, on a scale of 1-90.
None of the companies scored higher than 51, with Amnesty researchers identifying the companies' practices of forced evictions to make way for mining, subjecting workers to dangerous conditions, violating Indigenous peoples' rights, and exposing communities to environmental harm.
"While some progress was made, across the board, the scores were a massive disappointment," said Agnès Callamard, secretary general of Amnesty.
The companies have all stepped up mining development efforts as the International Energy Agency has said demand for minerals used in EV batteries—including cobalt, lithium, nickel, and copper—is expected to increase ninefold between 2024-50. Mineral industry analysts say more than 350 new mines will need to be opened by 2035 to meet demand.
But in the rush to extract the minerals, Callamard said, the companies are "putting immense pressures on mining-affected communities."
"The human rights abuses tied to the extraction of energy transition minerals are alarming and pervasive and the industry's response is sorely lacking," she said. "As demand for electric vehicles increases, manufacturers must ensure people's human rights are respected."
Previous research by Amnesty has found that "industrial cobalt is linked to forced evictions in the Democratic Republic of Congo," said Callamard. "Car companies need to use their massive leverage as global minerals buyers to influence upstream mining companies and smelters to mitigate these human rights risks."
The report ranked companies on whether they have publicly available human rights policies, monitor human rights due diligence, and remediate human rights grievances.
BYD, the world's second-largest EV manufacturer, performed the worst on the group's scorecard, with 11 out of 90. Along with Hyundai and Mitsubishi, also low performers, the company published little to no information about its human rights due diligence.
"None of these three multinationals published information demonstrating that they are trying to understand the human rights impacts of their battery metal sourcing," said Amnesty. "None of the three companies reported mapping these supply chains, nor demonstrated that they had identified specific risks."
Mercedes-Benz was the highest performing company with 51 out of 90, indicating "a moderate demonstration of alignment with international standards."
Amnesty called on companies to implement human rights due diligence processes "to identify, prevent, mitigate, and account for how they address adverse human rights impacts that they may cause, contribute to, or be directly linked to through their operations, products, or services."
All carmakers must bring their due diligence efforts "in line with international human rights standards" as outlined in the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, said Callamard. "We are also calling on governments to strengthen their own human rights due diligence regulation over the companies incorporated on their territories or their exports and import licenses."
Companies and the governments that import and export their goods must acknowledge that "human rights isn't just a fluff phrase, but an issue they take seriously," added Callamard. "It's time to shift gears and ensure electric vehicles don't leave behind a legacy of human rights abuses—instead, the industry must drive a just energy future that leaves no one behind."
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A transition away from the fossil fuels that have powered vehicles across the globe for decades, worsening the climate emergency, is sorely needed—but an analysis out Tuesday warns that companies spearheading the shift toward electric vehicles must do so while obeying internationally recognized human rights principles, and exposes how the firms have exploited communities in pursuit of minerals for EV batteries.
In a new report, Recharge for Rights, Amnesty International ranked the human rights records of 13 major EV manufacturers, including China-based BYD, Mercedes-Benz, Tesla, and Mitsubishi, on a scale of 1-90.
None of the companies scored higher than 51, with Amnesty researchers identifying the companies' practices of forced evictions to make way for mining, subjecting workers to dangerous conditions, violating Indigenous peoples' rights, and exposing communities to environmental harm.
"While some progress was made, across the board, the scores were a massive disappointment," said Agnès Callamard, secretary general of Amnesty.
The companies have all stepped up mining development efforts as the International Energy Agency has said demand for minerals used in EV batteries—including cobalt, lithium, nickel, and copper—is expected to increase ninefold between 2024-50. Mineral industry analysts say more than 350 new mines will need to be opened by 2035 to meet demand.
But in the rush to extract the minerals, Callamard said, the companies are "putting immense pressures on mining-affected communities."
"The human rights abuses tied to the extraction of energy transition minerals are alarming and pervasive and the industry's response is sorely lacking," she said. "As demand for electric vehicles increases, manufacturers must ensure people's human rights are respected."
Previous research by Amnesty has found that "industrial cobalt is linked to forced evictions in the Democratic Republic of Congo," said Callamard. "Car companies need to use their massive leverage as global minerals buyers to influence upstream mining companies and smelters to mitigate these human rights risks."
The report ranked companies on whether they have publicly available human rights policies, monitor human rights due diligence, and remediate human rights grievances.
BYD, the world's second-largest EV manufacturer, performed the worst on the group's scorecard, with 11 out of 90. Along with Hyundai and Mitsubishi, also low performers, the company published little to no information about its human rights due diligence.
"None of these three multinationals published information demonstrating that they are trying to understand the human rights impacts of their battery metal sourcing," said Amnesty. "None of the three companies reported mapping these supply chains, nor demonstrated that they had identified specific risks."
Mercedes-Benz was the highest performing company with 51 out of 90, indicating "a moderate demonstration of alignment with international standards."
Amnesty called on companies to implement human rights due diligence processes "to identify, prevent, mitigate, and account for how they address adverse human rights impacts that they may cause, contribute to, or be directly linked to through their operations, products, or services."
All carmakers must bring their due diligence efforts "in line with international human rights standards" as outlined in the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, said Callamard. "We are also calling on governments to strengthen their own human rights due diligence regulation over the companies incorporated on their territories or their exports and import licenses."
Companies and the governments that import and export their goods must acknowledge that "human rights isn't just a fluff phrase, but an issue they take seriously," added Callamard. "It's time to shift gears and ensure electric vehicles don't leave behind a legacy of human rights abuses—instead, the industry must drive a just energy future that leaves no one behind."
A transition away from the fossil fuels that have powered vehicles across the globe for decades, worsening the climate emergency, is sorely needed—but an analysis out Tuesday warns that companies spearheading the shift toward electric vehicles must do so while obeying internationally recognized human rights principles, and exposes how the firms have exploited communities in pursuit of minerals for EV batteries.
In a new report, Recharge for Rights, Amnesty International ranked the human rights records of 13 major EV manufacturers, including China-based BYD, Mercedes-Benz, Tesla, and Mitsubishi, on a scale of 1-90.
None of the companies scored higher than 51, with Amnesty researchers identifying the companies' practices of forced evictions to make way for mining, subjecting workers to dangerous conditions, violating Indigenous peoples' rights, and exposing communities to environmental harm.
"While some progress was made, across the board, the scores were a massive disappointment," said Agnès Callamard, secretary general of Amnesty.
The companies have all stepped up mining development efforts as the International Energy Agency has said demand for minerals used in EV batteries—including cobalt, lithium, nickel, and copper—is expected to increase ninefold between 2024-50. Mineral industry analysts say more than 350 new mines will need to be opened by 2035 to meet demand.
But in the rush to extract the minerals, Callamard said, the companies are "putting immense pressures on mining-affected communities."
"The human rights abuses tied to the extraction of energy transition minerals are alarming and pervasive and the industry's response is sorely lacking," she said. "As demand for electric vehicles increases, manufacturers must ensure people's human rights are respected."
Previous research by Amnesty has found that "industrial cobalt is linked to forced evictions in the Democratic Republic of Congo," said Callamard. "Car companies need to use their massive leverage as global minerals buyers to influence upstream mining companies and smelters to mitigate these human rights risks."
The report ranked companies on whether they have publicly available human rights policies, monitor human rights due diligence, and remediate human rights grievances.
BYD, the world's second-largest EV manufacturer, performed the worst on the group's scorecard, with 11 out of 90. Along with Hyundai and Mitsubishi, also low performers, the company published little to no information about its human rights due diligence.
"None of these three multinationals published information demonstrating that they are trying to understand the human rights impacts of their battery metal sourcing," said Amnesty. "None of the three companies reported mapping these supply chains, nor demonstrated that they had identified specific risks."
Mercedes-Benz was the highest performing company with 51 out of 90, indicating "a moderate demonstration of alignment with international standards."
Amnesty called on companies to implement human rights due diligence processes "to identify, prevent, mitigate, and account for how they address adverse human rights impacts that they may cause, contribute to, or be directly linked to through their operations, products, or services."
All carmakers must bring their due diligence efforts "in line with international human rights standards" as outlined in the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, said Callamard. "We are also calling on governments to strengthen their own human rights due diligence regulation over the companies incorporated on their territories or their exports and import licenses."
Companies and the governments that import and export their goods must acknowledge that "human rights isn't just a fluff phrase, but an issue they take seriously," added Callamard. "It's time to shift gears and ensure electric vehicles don't leave behind a legacy of human rights abuses—instead, the industry must drive a just energy future that leaves no one behind."
"If you will not stand down I will be forced to lead an effort to redraw the maps in California to offset the rigging of maps in red states," said Newsom.
Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday put U.S. President Donald Trump on notice that he is not messing around when it comes to plans to ruthlessly redraw his state's congressional districts.
In a letter sent to Trump, Newsom warned that he is ready to take the gloves off should Texas go through with a mid-decade gerrymander that independent analysts have estimated could net Republicans five additional seats in the U.S. House of Representatives.
"You are playing with fire, risking the destabilization of our democracy, while knowing that California can neutralize any gains you can hope to make," he said. "This attempt to rig congressional maps to hold onto power before a single vote is cast in the 2026 election is an affront to American democracy."
Newsom—a likely presidential candidate for 2028—emphasized that he believes congressional maps "should be drawn by independent, citizen-led efforts," but he said that the actions of Texas Republicans were leaving him with little choice.
"If you will not stand down I will be forced to lead an effort to redraw the maps in California to offset the rigging of maps in red states," he said. "But if the other states call off their redistricting efforts, we will happily do the same. And American democracy will be better for it."
Newsom's office followed up this letter by sending a Trump-style all-caps post on X that reiterated the redistricting threat and finished up by writing, "THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION IN THIS MATTER."
Democratic Texas state lawmakers last week fled the state in order to deny the GOP-led Legislature quorum to vote on a new congressional map that would take a hatchet to many districts currently held by Democratic representatives. Newsom has responded by threatening to undo his state's independent redistricting process through a special ballot initiative this fall so that the California Legislature can redraw the state map with a strong partisan gerrymander.
According to an investigation by Accountable.US, 73% of Trump's net worth may now come from crypto, which his administration is working to dramatically deregulate.
Over his nearly seven months as president, the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump has been taking a sledgehammer to regulations on cryptocurrency. A new report sheds further light on the reasons why.
The president may be profiting far more from his "rapidly-growing crypto empire" than was previously known and has used it to dramatically increase his net worth, according to an investigation released Thursday by the anti-corruption group Accountable.US.
While a report from Bloomberg on July 2 estimated the billionaire president's crypto holdings to total about $620 million of his nearly $7 billion net worth, Accountable examined other investments that had not previously been reported.
"President Trump's net worth," the group estimated, "could roughly be $15.9 billion, with about $11.6 billion in uncounted crypto assets." This would mean crypto accounts for 73% of his net worth.
Accountable reached this number by including investments that either had not yet occurred or were not public at the time of previous reporting.
These included roughly 22.5 billion tokens issued by Trump-owned WorldLiberty Financial Inc., which are estimated to be worth about $2 billion in value, but had not yet become tradable.
Other analyses, it said, also excluded the $7 billion in value of the new $TRUMP memecoins released in late July 2025.
"Two Trump-affiliated companies owned 80% of the $TRUMP venture as of May 2025 and were estimated to have collected over $324 million just in fees since January 2025," the report said.
Accountable also factored the holdings of Trump Media—the company that owns the president's social media app Truth Social. In July, the company bought $2 billion in Bitcoin and reserved another $300 million for Bitcoin options, and also announced the launch of its own set of NFTs.
As part of what they called "Crypto Week," Republicans passed multiple industry-friendly pieces of crypto legislation in July, the GENIUS Act and the CLARITY Act, which Accountable says allow Trump to directly profit.
The GENIUS Act purported to create a regulatory framework for so-called "stablecoins," which are pegged to existing financial assets like the U.S. dollar and are poised to become part of the portfolios of increasing numbers of companies. However, as Nikki McCann Ramirez wrote for Rolling Stone in June:
One of Trump's priorities has been the normalization of these so-called stablecoins — a type of asset that his family is now hawking.
Despite the moniker, stablecoins can be extremely unstable. A 2023 study published by the Bank for International Settlements found that of 60 stablecoins analyzed in their review, all of them had become de-pegged from their underlying asset at least once.
The 2022 crypto crash was triggered by the failure of Terraform Lab's Terra/Luna "algorithmic" stablecoin—the collapse of which saw $45 billion erased in the span of a week.
The bill places only very light regulations on stablecoins, and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) has warned that since he controls such a large percentage of the stablecoin market, their uptake into the broader economy could "create a superhighway for Donald Trump's corruption."
"As soon as the players understand that Trump's intervention is a real possibility, then the stablecoin market is no longer about a careful review of whether there are adequate dollars to back up a particular stablecoin, or whether the stablecoin issuer has an AAA rating," Warren said.
"Instead, the whole game becomes one of trying to engage the president to weigh the end and make one set of coins more valuable, and therefore another set of coins less valuable," she added. "It's corruption, but it's also a market manipulation that ultimately drains away any development...It undermines all the markets at that point."
But the CLARITY Act, which has been passed by the House and now awaits consideration in the Senate, is "the real prize" for the industry. It would dramatically narrow the Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) ability to regulate cryptocurrencies—most notably by recategorizing many assets as commodities instead of securities, which places them under the much smaller and less-resourced Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).
Trump would be one of the foremost beneficiaries of this bill, which would exclude digital assets like his $TRUMP and $MELANIA "meme coins" from SEC regulation.
It would also likely affect the classification of Bitcoin, which Trump Media has explicitly acknowledged would benefit the president. "If Bitcoin is determined to constitute a security," the company said in a June SEC filing, it could "adversely affect" the price of Bitcoin and the price of Trump Media's holdings.
Not only does this benefit Trump, said Accountable.US executive director Tony Carrk, but the legitimization and entrenchment of these unstable assets has the potential to make the whole economy less stable.
"Eerily reminiscent of the risky behavior that gave us the 2008 financial collapse, Donald Trump is ushering in a new era of casino-like speculation on Wall Street with highly volatile crypto trading in retirement accounts," Carrk said.
"While the Trump family stands to win either way with crypto investment product fees," Carrk added, "throwing such a wild card into the financial system with little to no guardrails could lead to history repeating itself—with everyday Americans footing the bill when things inevitably go south."
Railroad Workers United expressed opposition to any further consolidation of the U.S. rail system—unless it was brought under public ownership.
An inter-union U.S. rail coalition on Monday announced its formal opposition to Union Pacific's $85 billion bid to purchase Norfolk Southern and any other private consolidation of railroad giants, warning that such mergers serve only to enrich investors at the expense of workers, passengers, and communities across the nation.
Railroad Workers United (RWU)'s steering committee adopted a resolution outlining its opposition to the pending Union Pacific (UP)-Norfolk Southern (NS) deal, noting that rail mergers "have more often than not been fraught with inefficiencies, confusion, service disruptions, clogged terminals, staffing shortages, exhausted workers, and general malaise."
RWU "opposes this UP-NS merger as well as any and all takeovers, mergers, or other combinations of the remaining Class One railroads under the current system of private ownership," the resolution states.
"The only further consolidation of the continent's rail system that RWU would support is one that is publicly owned—how most nations' rail infrastructure is owned and operated today—and where the railroad workers are included in all aspects of managing railroad operations," the document concludes.
"Further corporate rail mergers today will do little for rail development but simply line the pockets of Wall Street investors at everyone else's expense."
RWU joins other prominent rail labor leaders and policy experts who have expressed deep concerns about the proposed takeover, which is part of a wave of mergers in the U.S. industrial sector this year under the Trump administration. The UP-NS merger still must receive federal approval.
"If the Union-Pacific-Norfolk Southern merger is approved, BNSF, the other western railroad—owned by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway—will almost certainly pursue CSX, the other eastern railroad, to avoid being boxed out," Arnav Rao, a transportation policy analyst at the Open Markets Institute, warned in a piece for Washington Monthly last week.
"If the United States is serious about reshoring manufacturing, it cannot afford to let its rail system become a duopoly," Rao added. "Allowing Union Pacific to absorb Norfolk Southern would leave just two national carriers, each with incalculable leverage over customers, workers, and regulators."
The day the merger proposal was announced last month, SMART Transportation Division (SMART-TD)—the largest railroad operating union in the U.S.—said it has "every intention to oppose" the deal, pointing to UP's record of "hostility" toward organized labor, willingness to lay off workers even during good periods for the industry, and "troubling safety record."
In a statement on Monday, RWU called on "all shipping groups, passenger train advocates, environmentalists, and especially railroad workers and our unions to oppose further mergers of rail corporations."
Pointing to the infamous robber barons of the Gilded Age, RWU organizer Matt Weaver said that "such concentration of wealth and power among a handful of men was not a good idea then and it is not a good idea today."
"They had a stranglehold on the economy and the rail workforce," said Weaver. "Further corporate rail mergers today will do little for rail development but simply line the pockets of Wall Street investors at everyone else's expense."