[the_Watchman]

"China added momentum to a push for zero-emissions motoring"

This means the Chinese think they have a lock on battery production. They probably have a corner on the market for some of the raw resources.

[Scrambler Bob]

They [China] probably have a corner on the market for some of the raw resources.
= = =

Didn’t I just read that 4-year olds are picking through mine tailings (in South Africa?) looking for minerals used in battery production?

For batteries to be ‘sustainable’, SA better keep up its birth rate.

[neverevergiveup]

All of the environmental costs of making electric cars vs. internal combustion engine cars need to be considered. According to this article, the environmental impact of producing batteries is substantial:

https://wattsupwiththat.com/2017/06/20/tesla-car-battery-production-releases-as-much-co2-as-8-years-of-gasoline-driving/

[Red Badger]

If it’s lithium, Afghanistan is the Saudi Arabia of Lithium.

China and Afghanistan have a small common border......

[arthurus]

China has a corner on the market for the rare-earth elements because the rest of the world has given it to China.Rare earths are not particularly rare, just “dirty” to produce and other countries have pretty much regulated them out of local production. China is glad to take the pollution that results from production of these materials and have a governments-given monopoly. In reality there is no other kind of monopoly.