Green transition it also has its negative side. This could be heard at a forum in Berlin where the main topic was the factory Tesla next to the capital of Germany and plans for the exploitation of lithium in Serbia, reports "Deutsche says".
What do the town of Greenheide near Berlin and the Jadar river valley in western Serbia have in common? Those two toponyms have become symbols of the fight against the exploitation of nature and man, all in the name of green transformation. This could be heard at the forum held in Berlin called "Tesla in Greenheide - lithium exploitation in Serbia and myths of green capitalism". The participants agreed on one thing: electromobility is a scam.
Matje Hansen, an activist whose film "Outsourcing: Import Resources, export pollution" about lithium mining plans in Serbia was shown at a forum in Berlin for a long time has been pointing to the glorified image of electromobility that dominates the narrative of green transformation and the fight against climate change.
Hansen, a Luxembourger with a Berlin address, comes from a movement that fights to strengthen the rights of cyclists, points to the false and glorified image that is being spread, from the direction of environmental organizations, when talking about electric cars.
"They may not need oil, but they need critical raw materials, such as lithium. You should keep in mind that one such electric sedan needs seven kilograms of lithium. A mobile phone only needs a few grams," says Hansen.
People in Serbia are angry with Germany and its automobile industry
In his film, he also showed the negative consequences of mining on the other side of Serbia, in the copper mines around Bor. He spoke with many local activists and believes that, despite the current media's primary interest in student protests, the topic of Jadar and lithium has not been forgotten, and is very much present.
"Before I went to Serbia, I had only one contact, but very quickly I came to many interesting interlocutors. And what I noticed is that people are very happy when someone listens to their problems," says Hansen.
During his stay in Serbia, he became convinced that people are very angry with their government, with Germany, with the German automobile industry and finally, with the European Union - especially after last week's decision of the European Commission to put the lithium exploitation project in the Jadar river valley on the list of strategically key projects when it comes to critical raw materials.
Hansen plans to make a series of films about similar locations in Europe, so he also visited Zinwald in the German province of Saxony, where lithium mining is also planned for the long term. "People in Saxony react similarly, even though the project is not on the Commission's list of critical strategic projects. But even in Saxony, those people who don't want mining there are angry. Those who say it's good because of jobs are in the minority."
A project to the detriment of the local population
Another place where the green transition shows its dark face is Greenheide near Berlin, where in 2020 the richest man in the world, Elon Musk, started building his first "gigafactory" (Gigafactory) for the production of "green" electric cars of the Tesla brand. And from the beginning he faced resistance from the local population.
"At the age of 72, I could say: I don't care. But I wouldn't be able to look in the mirror. I simply cannot allow them to consider us stupid to that extent with what they are trying to sell us. It is also about human dignity," says Heidemarie Schröder, author of the book "Gigafactory in Greenheide", in an interview with DW. It is a detailed documentation of the long-standing lawsuit of the Green Hyde resident against the Tesla company, its owner Musk and a whole series of local and federal politicians who enabled the construction of a huge plant for the production of Tesla cars while violating many environmental regulations.
This is the price that politics was willing to pay for the promised 40.000 jobs. But in the end, what was left of that promise: about 10.000 workers currently work in the "gigafactory".
"These are not high-quality jobs. People are under pressure and often on sick leave, and people with less education from the precarious strata of Berlin's population are employed. The local population has nothing to gain from this," claims activist Schroeder.
Hansen foresees a similar situation for the planned opening of a lithium mine in the Jadar river valley in western Serbia. "Most of the exploitation processes in Jadr will be automated. The few jobs for local workers will be associated with high health risks," he believes.
Electromobility is a scam
"Exploitation used to be far away, in Africa, Latin America. But, that spirit has now also reached Europe. It is here, in Serbia and in Saxony. The destruction of forests near Berlin in a water-protected area just so that Musk could build a factory there or preparations for the exploitation of lithium in Serbia with all possible problems for the environment and water - all these events are connected by electromobility or the fraud called electromobility," says Schröder, a long-time activist who, even at the time when lived in East Germany was often a thorn in the side of the authorities.
Above all, she is bothered by the fact that now, when, as she says, the true face of the green transition has been revealed, politicians pretend to be surprised. "Tesla and Rio Tinto are extreme examples that everyone knows, and that's why I'm angry at politicians who try to sell us something that isn't true. Wherever Rio Tinto appeared, there was environmental destruction, and the list of things that happened around the 'gigafactory' is so long and well-known that no one can say they didn't know," Heidemari Schröder warns.
Activist affiliation
Svjetlana Nenadović from the platform Zbor, who recently presented in Germany several main projects that these activists follow, confirmed the increasingly better connection of the actors who act against the projects of abuse of the green transition in an interview with DW.
"Activists from Germany approached us and asked us how they can help. And we also cooperate with similar platforms from all over Europe for various projects. People are looking for ways to organize themselves, because they have become aware that the fight we are fighting is one," says Nenadović.
"Both Greenheide and Jadar are connected, as well as other places in Europe that are connected to that green transition. The worst thing is that the electric car is sold to us as a solution to climate problems. But that is only a shift of the problems we have. The pollution and emissions that are now caused by internal combustion engines just move somewhere else and disappear perhaps from the city centers, but they are created again where raw materials are exploited or where gigafactories are created," concludes activist Matje Hansen.
