ESG movements successfully suppress demand for conflict resources in countries like the Congo, which in turn drives down the prices at which producers sell into the marketplace. This advantages precisely the buyers least concerned with ethics, namely Chinese producers, who acquire the same materials at lower cost. Over time, those producers, enjoying better margins and greater capital to reinvest, outcompete their ethically focused rivals.
Connections
Private Investors Shy Away From Rare Earth Mining
Reference
� The Elements of Power