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How China and Europe hunt for the raw materials of the future

In the Democratic Republic of Congo, people are being exploited in mines. Chinese traders are illegally buying cobalt, a material Europe needs for its green energy transition. Therefore, Europe buys the cobalt from these illegal traders. The EU now wants to free itself from its dependence on China for raw materials and expand its own local activities. They promise to act more fairly than China - though some say this is not a reasonable promise. A huge hydrogen project involving Germany is being planned on the south-east coast of Namibia. The local population is also supposed to benefit from it. However, parts of a national park will be destroyed by the billions being spent in the name of green investment. "Why doesn't Germany sacrifice its own protected parks for green hydrogen?” asks Namibia's well-known environmental activist Chris Brown.

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Why Cobalt Mining in the DRC Needs Urgent Attention

DW Documentary

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