Start the Week Challenges and solutions
Apr 13, 2026
John Kampfner, journalist who documents daring policy experiments; Natasha Walter, writer exploring feminism and climate; Nicholas Niarchos, reporter on critical mineral supply chains. They debate the costs of green tech, brutal realities of artisanal mining and ownership models. They discuss how climate and extractivism shape gendered harms, and survey pragmatic national solutions from housing to care.
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Ownership Helps But Corruption Undermines Gains
- Local ownership of mineral resources changes outcomes but is not a panacea.
- Niarchos contrasts Indonesia's more local nickel control with Chile's troubled lithium sector and warns corruption still undermines benefits.
Extractivism Erodes Women's Safety And Care
- Mining and resource battles intensify gendered harms and degrade local care networks.
- Niarchos details uranium-contaminated ore, devalued women's labour like washing minerals, and collapsing community care.
Build Ethical Mining Around Local Communities
- Green energy can be pursued more responsibly by centring communities and local power.
- Niarchos highlights ethical mining firms and insists models must start with empowering local communities and knowledge structures.
