Environmental Justice Across the Lithium Supply Chain: A Role for Science Diplomacy in the Americas

The document analyzes the lithium supply chain for electric vehicle (EV) batteries, highlighting a distributive injustice where the 'Lithium Triangle' (Argentina, Bolivia, and Chile) suffers environmental degradation and water scarcity while North America gains from reduced urban pollution. It argues that science diplomacy—integrating scientific evidence into transnational policy—can establish sustainability thresholds and geochemical tracing methods to ensure responsible sourcing. The authors recommend using sustainability science to define mining standards and employing lithium isotope analysis to verify the origin of materials, drawing parallels from successful agricultural supply chain policies.

• The lithium supply chain for electric vehicles exhibits a significant geographic imbalance in costs and benefits: South American countries in the 'Lithium Triangle' absorb the environmental and social costs of extraction, while North American populations receive the benefits of EV usage.
• Lithium mining in the Lithium Triangle (Argentina, Bolivia, and Chile) causes severe environmental degradation, specifically creating water scarcity that threatens the livelihoods of local and indigenous communities.
• Current sustainability certifications, such as those from the Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance (IRMA), lack the specific scientific definitions and measurable thresholds necessary to effectively verify if mining operations are truly sustainable.
• Geochemical analysis of lithium isotopes offers a reliable, tamper-proof method to trace the origin of lithium in batteries, which can be used to audit document-based traceability systems and ensure materials come from responsible sources.
• The United States is heavily dependent on imported lithium due to minimal domestic production, with only one active lithium mine as of April 2023, despite policies like the Inflation Reduction Act that incentivize North American sourcing.
• Policy frameworks in the Lithium Triangle vary significantly: Chile has a state-led strategy with a new 2023 National Lithium Plan; Argentina lacks a unified national policy, leading to provincial competition; and Bolivia maintains nearly absolute state ownership, which has historically hindered private investment.
• Lessons from the agricultural sector, such as the Brazilian Soy Moratorium, demonstrate that market exclusion mechanisms and certification schemes can successfully reduce environmental damage like deforestation when coordinated across borders.
• Science diplomacy can bridge the gap between Northern and Southern American countries by sharing research on hydrological impacts and biodiversity, such as the negative correlation between lithium mining and flamingo abundance in the Chilean Andes.

APA

Grossman, A., Mastrangelo, M., s, C. D. L. R., & Jiménez-Córdova, M. (2023). Environmental Justice Across the Lithium Supply Chain: A Role for Science Diplomacy in the Americas. Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research. https://iai.int/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Policy-Analysis-Environmental-Justice-Across-the-Lithium-Supply-Chain-A-Role-for-Science-Diplomacy-in-the-Americas.pdf

Chicago

Grossman, Alice, Matıaś Mastrangelo, Camilo De Los Rıó s, and Mónica Jiménez-Córdova. Environmental Justice Across the Lithium Supply Chain: A Role for Science Diplomacy in the Americas. Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research, 2023. https://iai.int/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Policy-Analysis-Environmental-Justice-Across-the-Lithium-Supply-Chain-A-Role-for-Science-Diplomacy-in-the-Americas.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Grossman |first1=Alice |last2=Mastrangelo |first2=Matıaś |last3=s |first3=Camilo De Los Rıó |last4=Jiménez-Córdova |first4=Mónica |title=Environmental Justice Across the Lithium Supply Chain: A Role for Science Diplomacy in the Americas |publisher=Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research |date=June 2023 |url=https://iai.int/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Policy-Analysis-Environmental-Justice-Across-the-Lithium-Supply-Chain-A-Role-for-Science-Diplomacy-in-the-Americas.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{grossman2023environmental, author = {Grossman, Alice and Mastrangelo, Matıaś and s, Camilo De Los Rıó and Jiménez-Córdova, Mónica}, title = {{Environmental Justice Across the Lithium Supply Chain: A Role for Science Diplomacy in the Americas}}, institution = {Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research}, year = {2023}, month = jun, url = {https://iai.int/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Policy-Analysis-Environmental-Justice-Across-the-Lithium-Supply-Chain-A-Role-for-Science-Diplomacy-in-the-Americas.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }