Biden admin's drive for green energy leads to accusations of forced child labor mining for EV battery metals

The Biden administration faces a difficult balancing act in the rush for cobalt and other metals needed for batteries used by electric vehicles. Fears of child labor at the mines is one such concern.

Paul Tilsley is a veteran correspondent who has reported on African affairs for more than three decades from Johannesburg, South Africa. He can be followed on Twitter @paultilsley

Many EV manufacturers crave it, as it makes electric vehicles go faster and further. But U.S. carmakers are stepping through a human rights minefield to get it and other battery ingredients.

And while some U.S. companies agonize over whether they should be the unacceptable face of green energy by buying controversially mined cobalt, China, sources say, has no such scruples and has surged ahead to become the biggest EV manufacturer in the world.