COP29: 'Sinister' reality behind cheap solar panels and EVs imported into Australia
As world leaders negotiate a transition to green energy at COP29, a woman who fled China warns it should not come at the cost of human rights.
Solar panels and electric vehicles are becoming cheaper in Australia and the uptake of these environmentally friendly products is on the rise. This week, leaders have jetted off to Azerbaijan to negotiate how the entire world can finance a transition from fossil fuels to green energy at the United Nations COP29 climate talks.
But a leading human rights activist is warning there’s a hidden cost to many renewable energy products, particularly those offered at bargain prices. “If it's cheap you can assume there is something sinister behind it,” Uyghur advocate Ramila Chanisheff told Yahoo News during a visit to Melbourne on Tuesday.
She’s referring to the unpaid forced labour and "re-education camps" China’s Uyghur population has been routinely subjected to. The Xinjiang region, where this largely Muslim minority is concentrated, is also an important hub for the renewable manufacturing industry.
At least 35 per cent of the world’s polysilicon is produced in the region, a key ingredient in 95 per cent of the world’s solar panels. And even though Australia banned the import of products made using slave labour in 2021, it can be hard to trace back where individual components are made because China’s supply chains are notoriously opaque.
Around 99 per cent of Australia's solar panels are sourced from China, and a 2023 report found the nation's top five solar panel manufacturers had “high” or “very high” exposure to suppliers in Xinjiang.
The conditions in Xinjiang are reportedly severe. In 2022, a United Nations report accused authorities of “crimes against humanity” and heard allegations of beatings, torture, rape, and extended solitary confinement. The United States found China has undertaken “genocide” against the Uyghur and other minority groups.
COP29 must 'directly address' human rights concerns
Speaking generally about worker's rights, the director of the Australian Human Rights Institute, Professor Justine Nolan, said she understands the rush to rapidly embrace renewables, but with many critical minerals coming from developing nations, she worries the world is repeating “mistakes of the past”.
“If we don't build into the cost the true price of production, which includes labour and adequate working standards, then it’s like we’re going back to the Industrial Revolution and saying let's get the product out at whatever it costs,” she told Yahoo News.
This year, the Albanese Government announced a $1 billion investment to make Australia a global competitor in solar panel manufacturing. And on Monday it announced the appointment of a new anti-slavery commissioner, former Labor Minister Chris Evans, to help address the problem of forced labour.
Nolan has welcomed both announcements but warned the transition away from goods associated with poor worker conditions will take years to complete.
Addressing the COP29 talks directly, Nolan argues the environment and human rights are “all part of the same picture” and need to be considered in parallel discussions.
“If we're going to move towards a just transition, which includes sourcing and production of renewable energy, then we need to consider both issues in tandem. For too long there have been people who only advocate and support environmental rights and others doing workers' rights.”
Outspoken Chinese opponents fear returning to homeland
Chanisheff and her Uyghur parents fled China in the 1970s as the cultural revolution advanced and threatened to change their way of life. She has not returned.
This year the Chinese Premier Li Qiang visited Australia and announced the country’s citizens could now visit his country for 15 days without a visa. But even though some of her colleagues have taken advantage of the new policy and visited their homeland, Chanisheff thinks she would be arrested for doing so as she is outspoken in her role as the Australian Uyghur Tangritagh Women’s Association in Australia.
She notes that Chinese Australian writer Yang Hengjun was arrested and given a suspended death sentence this year after being accused of blogging about state affairs. And in 2020, Australian journalist Cheng Lei was held in custody for over 1,000 days.
In Australia, Chanisheff has seen evidence she is being monitored by Chinese authorities. An acquaintance who featured in a photograph with her on social media was questioned about their association while on a trip overseas.
“Those of us who are not scared to speak up, we hope that the Australian Government and the laws here will keep us safe. But I can't be protected. 24/7, right?” she said.
Buy with 'consciousness' to avoid being 'complicit' in abuse
Because it's hard for critics of China or independent journalists to investigate conditions in factories or supply chains, particularly in the Xinjiang region, Chanisheff has some advice for Australian shoppers.
“It's scary to know that we are all complicit as everyday consumers in human rights abuses. And we need to be aware of how we buy and what we buy. We need to buy with consciousness, with understanding, and with heart.”
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