Lead the Charge

🇪🇺 Europe’s Leadership Is Working
CBAM is shaping global action: from China’s inclusion of steel in its carbon market to new discussions in Turkey and South Korea. Europe is proving that climate ambition and industrial strength can go hand in hand. Backtracking now would weaken global momentum.

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💹 Stay Predictable, Stay Credible
The EU’s carbon pricing and CBAM reforms are already driving long-term investment in clean steel. Changing course now would erode investor confidence & risk stalling projects. Sticking to the agreed path gives Europe’s innovators confidence to deliver.

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🦖 End Hidden Fossil Subsidies
For nearly two decades, Europe’s steelmakers have received billions in free pollution permits. These have slowed innovation in green tech for industry such as green hydrogen, DRI, and electric arc furnaces. Phasing them out is fair, balanced by CBAM.

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@steelwatch.bsky.social is calling for the @ec.europa.eu to stay the course on #CBAM. They offer 3 reasons why: learn more in this 🧵

#CBAM #EUETS #CleanSteel

steelwatch.org/commentary/e...

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Check out their case studies from Allegheny County, Pennsylvania and Southwest Ohio to learn more about how pollution from coal-based steelmaking impacts public health.

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Industrial Equity Mapper Stories of Industrial Pollution in the U.S.

@industriouslabs.bsky.social just released a powerful new tool that analyzes health, demographic, economic, and pollution data in communities impacted by industrial pollution across the US.

industriouslabs.org/issues/indus... 1/2

Frontline Voices in the Fight for a Just Energy Transition: A View from Guinea Inclusive Development International, Action Mines-Guinea, AFREWATCH and Lead the Charge invite you to join us for a panel discussion on the sidelines of the UN Forum on Business and Human Rights, focu...

Does your supply chain contain bauxite from Guinea? Join our webinar with AFREWATCH, Guinee Mines and Inclusive Development International to learn more about communities affected by expansion of one of the world's largest bauxite mines.

forms.gle/hayAAWbCsFvkfgov5

“Broken Promises” Philippines Nickel Mining Causes Rights Abuses and Increases Climate Vulnerability

Read the full report at --> cri.org/reports/brok... 5/5

⛏️ Nickel ore exported to China was processed into nickel sulfate, a high-quality nickel often used in EV batteries, and ferronickel, used in the production of stainless steel, then re-exported to third countries, including Brazil and India 4/5

🚙 Chinese companies that sourced nickel from MMDC have been documented in electric vehicle supply chains, including JSW MG Motor India Private’s supply chain for its Windsor EV and Comet EV models 3/5

The auto industry is implicated in this damaging nickel supply chain. According to the report:

🔋 One mining operation studied reportedly supplies battery grade minerals to Panasonic, a major battery manufacturer that produces batteries for Tesla and Toyota 2/5

YouTube video by Climate Rights International “Broken Promises:” Philippines Nickel Mining Causes Rights Abuses & Increases Climate Vulnerability

A new report from @climaterights.bsky.social documents the human rights, environmental, and climate impacts of nickel mining in the Caraga Region, home to more mines than any other part of the Philippines. 1/5

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hf6H...

Work release programs depress wages at Hyundai suppliers, study suggests The Columbia Labor Lab study appears to show increasing plants’ share of incarcerated workers reduces the wages of free workers.

Civil society organizations including Jobs to Move America are sounding the alarm about Hyundai’s use of prison labor in its Alabama, US supply chain.

www.alreporter.com/2025/11/07/w...

“I got hurt on the job with my hand, snapped a bone. They bandaged me up, told me to keep working, so I did. If I couldn't do my job, then they'd just call the camp and report it. And then the camp would write me up if I didn't do it, and probably send me back to one of the dangerous prisons."

📉 Economic Impact of Prison Labor: A 10% increase in the share of incarcerated workers in a plant is associated with a 10–14% decrease in wages for non-incarcerated (“free”) workers.

💲 Regional Wage Suppression: In the Montgomery area, where Alabama’s Hyundai suppliers are concentrated, auto supplier wages are 7–9% lower than expected compared to similar jobs elsewhere in Alabama and neighboring states.

👷 Widespread Labor Violations: These workers report higher rates of safety hazards and more frequent experiences of wage theft, forced overtime, harassment, and denial of breaks compared to other auto supply chain employees in Alabama.

The researchers found:

⬇️ Lower Wages in Hyundai’s Supply Chain: Surveyed workers employed in Hyundai’s Alabama supply chain reported earning 10-15% less than other auto-sector workers in the state – even after controlling for education, race, gender, and age.

A new report from the Columbia Labor Lab examined the impact of Hyundai's use of prison labor in its factories in Alabama on the broader work force.

laborlabcu.org/wp-content/u...

If you’ll be attending #COP30noBrasil, be sure to check out these events from @leadthecharge.bsky.social network member organizations:

leadthecharge.org/cop2025/

#COP30

Their stance:

⭕ Mass balance credits are not robust enough to drive genuine decarbonisation.
⭕ Chain-of-Custody models may play a limited, transitionary role - but only with full transparency and verified data.

Now #SteelZero has released its position on mass balance accounting, setting the guardrails for credible use and drawing a clear line between robust transition tools and greenwashing risks.

Steel industry needs consistent reporting standards to achieve real emissions cuts, SteelZero urges | Climate Group SteelZero has released its position paper on the use of “mass balance accounting” in the steel sector. The paper provides clarity for members, steel buyers, and industry stakeholders on how mass balan...

In our newsletter we covered “mass balance accounting” - a practice where steelmakers mix dirty and clean inputs & assign the low-emissions attributes from inputs such as “green iron” reduced with hydrogen to a portion of the steel produced..

www.theclimategroup.org/our-work/new...

@steelwatch.bsky.social is urging EU lawmakers to stay the course on CBAM, despite calls from some in the steel industry to delay implementation.

steelwatch.org/commentary/e...

🖱️ Establish a global database for mine tailings facilities and track the potential availability of minor (or companion) metals
🤝 Forge mutually beneficial partnerships between the communities and countries that host the mines and the importing and processing countries 5/5

🌴 Link mining investments and financing to climate and nature-positive requirements
♻️ Use fiscal, financial, and monetary policies to support investment in responsible mining and infrastructure and promote the circular use of metals in society 4/5

👷 Report financial and ESG outcomes on a site-by-site, gendered and ‘shared value’ basis by mining companies, that also takes Indigenous rights into account
💱 Include mining that meets high ESG standards in the list of sectors that qualify for ‘sustainable ’ and ‘climate’ in finance taxonomies 3/5

They recommend the following interventions:

🏦 Strengthen financial institutions’ capacity to finance mining operations that meet high ESG standards
🛂 Develop a digital product passport for all mineral commodities and their value chains 2/5

New UN report calls for responsible financing and investment in energy transition minerals Nairobi, 9 October 2025 – The financial system, governance and regulation of mineral exploration and mining must be reformed to ensure greater capital flows and a clean energy transition, say the auth...

The UN Environment Programme-hosted International Resource Panel is calling for the financial system, governance and regulation of mineral exploration and mining to be reformed to ensure a just clean energy transition. #battchatt 1/5

www.unep.org/news-and-sto...

Remining for the Energy Transition - Earthworks In this report, Earthworks, Transport and Environment, and Earthjustice highlight the potential of remining to help meet the increasing demand for

But a study last year from @earthworks.bsky.social on remining tailings flagged potential public health impacts and technical challenges that would need to be overcome before remining can be safely pursued as an intervention in sustainable battery supply chains.

earthworks.org/resources/re...