“Water is worth more than lithium.” That is the message Indigenous communities from Salinas Grandes brought to #COP30, and the world needs to hear it.
They are not asking to stop production or halt the energy transition. They are asking for something elemental: do not destroy the #water that sustains life in the high Andes.
#Lithium extraction in salt flats consumes water from ecosystems that are already dry and vulnerable. When communities say “lithium is water mining,” they are describing a reality the global market has chosen to overlook.
This is not about choosing between development or climate action. It is about how we do it. If the world wants lithium, it must also take responsibility for its hydrological footprint, with real #WaterStewardship: measured, monitored and verified actions, not photos or narratives.
Europe already set the bar.
Under the #CSDDD, companies cannot rely on minerals linked to water depletion, lack of consultation or #environmental harm. Water impacts in the #supplychain are now legal red lines.
Argentina already stopped exporting agricultural products from burned areas. The same principle should apply here. If water is being damaged, it cannot be business as usual.
𝗟𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘂𝗺 𝗺𝗮𝘆 𝗽𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻, 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘄𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿, 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗼 𝗳𝘂𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗽𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿.
