Efforts to Slow Climate Change Could Inadvertently Create Humanitarian Crises

Dec 1, 2023 | James Huang and Marx Itabelo Lwabanya
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Up to 30 percent of the DRC’s cobalt is extracted through “artisanal mining”—small scale operations that rely on child labor, unsafe working conditions and exposure to hazardous pollutants that lead to poor health outcomes, such as neurological impairment or respiratory failure. 

As physicians based in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and the U.S., we applaud that meeting organizers are doing a deep dive on health issues; health and human rights should be an integral part of discussions throughout COP 28, particularly as they involve the mining of natural resources to meet renewable energy demands.

The Biden administration has increased its focus on the DRC’s natural resources, but has taken little responsibility in supporting Congolese refugees, who top the list of countries of origin for U.S. asylum applicants. The DRC is the only country of the top five, which includes Syria, Sudan, Burma and Ukraine, not designated for Temporary Protected Status, which would allow for streamlined acceptance of asylum seekers.