Companies seeking authorization to mine metals from seabeds in international waters are putting increasing pressure on an obscure UN committee located in Jamaica to halt its plans to potentially open the world’s deep oceans to mining.
The International Seabed Authority concluded two weeks of negotiations on Friday without approving rules and regulations to oversee deep sea mining, despite growing calls to halt, ban, or place a moratorium on efforts to extract minerals from the Earth’s watery depths that are used in green technology such as electric car batteries.
While the first permits for deep sea mining exploration were awarded in 2001, the authority has yet to receive a request for real mining. Individual nations and private corporations can begin applying for provisional permits on July 10 if the United Nations grants them. It is extremely improbable that a governing body would adopt a set of rules and regulations before July 9, since analysts estimate the approval process might take many years.
Deryck Lance Murray, the authority’s representative for Trinidad and Tobago, stated during Friday’s final meeting, “We are acutely aware of the critical juncture the council finds itself at.”
A rising number of nations, including France, Spain, Germany, Costa Rica, and the Dominican Republic, share the concerns of the scientists that deep sea mining will destabilize the ecosystems that govern climate change.
Edward Anbal Pérez, the authority’s representative from the Dominican Republic, stated during Friday’s concluding meeting, “When in doubt, favor nature.”
Even while he is aware of the significance of particular minerals in light of the fact that humanity is on the verge of an energy transition, he stated that deep sea mining is not the only option for meeting rising demand.
“It is evident that there are concerns about the potential consequences of this behavior,” he added.
Prior to this, France’s envoy, Olivier Guyonvarch, stated that a lack of data on deep sea ecosystems and species prohibits a fact-based examination of the possible damage caused by such mining.
“In the mostly uncharted and unstudied depths of the ocean, scientists are discovering an astonishing diversity of life,” he added.
According to Guyonvarch, scientists are already aware that the deep water plays a significant role in preventing climate change by sequestering vast quantities of carbon.
Experts have cautioned that deep sea mining will kill animals and harm ecosystems by unleashing noise, light, and dust storms, but firms that promote deep sea mining believe that it is less expensive and has a smaller environmental effect than terrestrial mining.
More than 30 exploration licenses have been given to date, with the majority of the activities concentrated on the Clarion-Clipperton Fracture Zone, which stretches across 1.7 million square miles (4.5 million square kilometers) between Hawaii and Mexico. There has been exploration at depths ranging between 13,000 and 19,000 feet (4,000 to 6,000 meters).
In an effort to prevent pollution, an increasing number of governments and businesses are turning to green energy, causing a rush and demand for minerals.
In a study published this year, the International Energy Agency stated that sectors that were in their infancy in the early 2000s and 2010s, such as solar photovoltaic technology and electric cars, “have mushroomed into massive industrial operations today.”
According to the Institute for Global Energy Policy at Columbia University, between 2020 and 2050, demand for minerals such as lithium, cobalt, and nickel would climb from less than 10 million metric tons to around 150 million metric tons.
More than a dozen nations have formally asked for a ban, stop, or moratorium on deep sea mining, although it is unknown how many nations favor such mining. And while there are 36 members on the authority’s council with the power to award contracts to governments and private companies, only 12 votes in favor of deep sea mining are required for it to pass, according to the Deep Sea Conservation Coalition, a coalition of environmental groups based in the Netherlands.
The coalition’s co-founder, Matthew Gianni, told The Associated Press that there is also an ongoing argument over how the UN body would approve or reject an application for a provisional license in the absence of a set of norms and regulations.
He said that there is currently no consensus over what a provisional license would permit.
Even if a provisional license is given, it is unclear whether this would be a green light for mining or simply a preliminary approval saying that the firm or nation cannot sign a contract with the UN organization until a legal framework is established.
“Everything is uncertain,” Gianni remarked.
A provisional license decision may potentially be appealed to the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea.
