This report uses literature review, key informant interviews and spatial analysis to assess how lithium mining disproportionately affects vulnerable populations and ecosystems in the Americas.
Under supervision from SEI, graduate students at the University of California, Davis conducted an analysis of how the increasing demand for lithium fuels mining policies that bring disproportionately negative effects to marginalized communities.
This report examines case studies in the US, Canada, South American Andean salt flats and Brazil to demonstrate how environmental justice considerations are frequently excluded from renewable energy policies, causing disruptions to local livelihoods and ecosystems.
This report was prepared by graduate students at the University of California, Davis, in collaboration with SEI.
Project / This project seeks to inform planning on lithium mining in the Americas that minimizes its negative social and environmental effects.
SEI podcast / In this podcast episode SEI’s Laura Forni explores how lithium mining in the Andean mountains is impacting Indigenous communities.
Journal article / This article uses Indigenous frameworks in proposing indicators aligned with the UN SDGs for lithium mining in Argentina.
SEI brief / This policy brief discusses the importance of involving Indigenous Peoples in lithium mining decisions in the Argentine Altiplano.
