Cobalt Fever

Cobalt is essential to the batteries powering the green transition, and the Democratic Republic of Congo holds the world's largest reserves. But the wealth extracted from Congolese soil flows largely to Chinese mining corporations, leaving behind environmental destruction on a significant scale.

Directed by Kati Juurus for Yle, this Finnish documentary traces the geopolitical and ecological consequences of global cobalt dependency. The EU is determined to reduce its reliance on Chinese-controlled supply chains, and Finland has emerged as a potential alternative. Several cobalt mines are planned in the Kuusamo region, raising the possibility of a homegrown European solution.

The film moves between continents and stakes, from the ravaged landscapes of the Congo to the forests and communities of northern Finland, where local environmental concerns are intensifying as mining proposals advance. The questions it raises are not easy ones. Can Europe extract its way to sustainability, or does the green transition simply relocate its costs?

Juurus brings an investigative clarity to material that sits at the intersection of climate policy, economic competition, and ecological risk. The result is a documentary that resists simple answers while making the complexity of the issue genuinely accessible.