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Protecting the Blue Heart of Our Planet: A Call to Stop Deep-Sea Mining
The ocean is far more than a collection of resources to be exploited; it's a living, breathing entity that sustains life on Earth, and it's our duty to protect it.
Jul 17, 2024
In the bustling heart of New York City, where the pulse of global capitalism beats strongest, Greenpeace USA illuminated a towering LED Billboard with a crucial message for the Biden administration and investors: "Stop Deep-Sea Mining."
As an ocean campaigner with Greenpeace, every pixel of that display resonates with me as a beacon of hope in the ongoing battle to safeguard our oceans.
My connection to the ocean runs deep. From my childhood in Coastal California, where the ocean is a central part of our culture and economy, to the privilege I've enjoyed as a campaigner to explore its depths and sail its vast expanses, marveling at its mysteries and the incredible creatures that call it home, to the unparalleled joy of teaching my grandchildren to snorkel. The ocean is far more than a collection of resources to be exploited; it's a living, breathing entity that sustains life on Earth, and it's our duty to protect it.
With our oceans, climate, and planet facing crises, we cannot afford to take unnecessary risks with another ill-conceived and needlessly destructive industry.
And now our oceans, which have already been pushed to the brink, face a new and urgent peril: Deep-Sea Mining. Driven by the insatiable thirst for profit, this industry is poised to unravel the delicate tapestry of life in the most pristine ecosystem on our planet: the deep seas. This is one of the last places in the world that is largely untouched by human activity, a place where scientists are just now discovering thousands of new species, and it's crucial to all life on our planet. In its wake, deep-sea mining could collectively impact an oceanic area greater than the size of the continental U.S. and worsen the already critical state of the world's oceans.
Over 2.8 million people worldwide have signed the Greenpeace petition calling for a moratorium on deep-sea mining because this is about more than just preserving habitats and safeguarding species—it's about protecting a part of ourselves.
We are not alone. The industry faces resistance from international investors and major banks, who have refused to fund deep-sea mining. Businesses such as Google, BMW, Volvo, and Renault have all called for a pause. Governments around the world, the United Nations human rights commissioner, fishing interests, battery manufacturers, Indigenous groups, and thousands of climate and youth activists have also raised objections. As a result, deep-sea mining didn't get the "green light" that was expected at an international meeting last year.
But the threat remains.
Today, as I stand in Times Square surrounded by flashy billboards, our call to protect the ocean stands alongside the seven-story Nasdaq Billboard where The Metals Company (TMC), a leading proponent of deep-sea mining, previously broadcast its entry as a Nasdaq-traded company, and I am reminded of the gravity of what's at stake. The ocean provides over 70% of the oxygen we breathe. It is an essential carbon sink that has helped us to regulate the climate even in the face of our increasing production of greenhouse gasses—buffering us from the worse impacts of climate change.
But it's what we don't know that should give us pause about launching an industry with irreversible impacts in a critical life-sustaining environment. Mining in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone could have unknown impacts on the ocean's carbon cycle. Extracting nodules, disrupting marine habitats, and generating sediment plumes from mining activities may disrupt carbon sequestration and hinder oxygen-producing processes.
This should worry investors buying into the industry's hyperbole of expected returns as, judging from the surge in climate change and biodiversity cases, they could face both litigation and business model risks. Countries, communities, and other stakeholders impacted by seabed mining—like fishing communities—can pursue their perceived losses in international, regional, and national courts.
Until recently, The Metals Company CEO Gerard Barron actively sought investment and political support, promoting seafloor polymetallic nodules as a pivotal resource for electric vehicles, dubbing them a "battery in a rock." However, with the evolution of battery technology diminishing the purported necessity for seafloor minerals coupled with a notable decline in metal prices, and after failing to persuade people that deep-sea minerals are needed to fight climate change, these reckless opportunists have turned their sights on the Pentagon. They are now exploiting geopolitical tensions as they cite China as an alternative market if the U.S. won't help them open the gates to the new extractive industry.
Recently, former military and government officials who should know better lent their names to a letter that supports the right thing for the wrong reasons. The letter, echoing The Metals Company's fear-mongering rhetoric, calls for the U.S. to ratify the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) to spur the country's interest in deep-sea mining amid competition with China for critical minerals. There are numerous good reasons for the U.S. to ratify UNCLOS, and being able to vote for a moratorium on deep-sea mining should be at the top of that list.
Instead, The Metals Company is aiming to get deep-sea mining started, ignoring all the reasons not to, possibly because their Nasdaq stock price just hasn't been able to get back up since their bellowing beginning. They announced they will submit an application to begin commercial deep-sea mining following the meeting of the International Seabed Authority this month - even though the organization is very unlikely to adopt a regulatory framework to permit mining this year.
Rather than cowering to an aggressive company seeking to profit off devastating an ocean ecosystem we barely understand, the U.S. government should focus on its responsibility to extend protections for our oceans. Investing billions of dollars in an untested and destructive industry like deep-sea mining is not the answer. It's 2024, a time when prospectors are beginning to look out to other planets for new resources. We have already done so much damage to this blue planet we call Earth, the only place known to harbor life. Isn't it time to finally prioritize preserving the rich life-giving oceans that sustain us? Instead of deep-sea mining, a better choice would be supporting innovative technology and scaling the recycling and reuse of batteries and minerals that are already making this industry obsolete.
It doesn't make sense to destroy little-understood ecosystems just to add a small percentage of world metals production. Investors should be cautious against falling for the poorly veiled greenwashing narrative. With our oceans, climate, and planet facing crises, we cannot afford to take unnecessary risks with another ill-conceived and needlessly destructive industry.
We call on U.S. President Joe Biden to support a moratorium on deep-sea mining and join the other 27 countries that have opposed this industry. This will ensure that corporations like TMC do not destroy another global resource that belongs to us all.
The choices we make today will echo through the generations. Will we choose to exploit the depths of our oceans for profit and weapons of war, or will we unite to protect and preserve the precious blue heart of our planet? The power to decide lies in our collective hands.
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Greenpeace Says Ban Deep-Sea Mining, Not Our Right to Protest Against It
"How can Greenpeace's activists paddling on kayaks be a threat to the environment, but the plundering of the oceans be a solution to the climate catastrophe?"
Mar 18, 2024
As the International Seabed Authority kicked off its annual summit in Jamaica on Monday to discuss rules for extracting minerals from the ocean floor, Greenpeace—which could be expelled from the United Nations body over a demonstration targeting a mining company—is urging the ISA to "stop deep-sea mining, not protests."
Representatives of 167 nations are gathering in Kingston to draft the regulatory framework for deep-sea mining, which ISA member states agreed to work out by July 2025. Although there are no current commercial deep seabed mining operations, the ISA has issued exploration licenses to state-owned companies and agencies in China, France, Germany, India, Japan, Russia, and South Korea, and to private corporations including U.K. Seabed Resources, a subsidiary of U.S. military-industrial complex giant Lockheed Martin.
The Metals Company, a Canadian startup looking to make a big splash in deep-sea mining, has been targeted by Greenpeace "kayaktivists," who last November boarded a ship belonging to subsidiary Nauru Ocean Resources Inc. in the Pacific Ocean and occupied the vessel's stern crane to draw attention to the potential harm that mineral extraction would cause to one of the world's last untouched ecosystems.
That peaceful protest could cost Greenpeace its ISA observer status, as members will consider whether to punish the environmental group during this week's conference. ISA Secretary-General Michael Lodge claimed that Greenpeace's kayak protest posed a "serious threat" to company personnel and "the marine environment."
However, last November a Dutch court rejected The Metals Company's request for an injunction against the protesters, finding it "understandable" that Greenpeace took direct action in the face of "possibly very serious consequences" of the company's mining plans.
Greenpeace plans to hold a side event at the ISA conference on Monday focusing on the right to protest.
"If Michael Lodge had put as much effort into properly scrutinizing deep-sea mining companies and ensuring transparent negotiations as he has chasing dissent, a pristine ecosystem would have a fair chance to remain undisturbed," said Greenpeace International Deep-Sea Mining campaign lead Louisa Casson. "How can Greenpeace's activists paddling on kayaks be a threat to the environment, but the plundering of the oceans be a solution to the climate catastrophe?"
This year's ISA conference comes as two dozen nations are calling for a moratorium on deep-sea mining and campaigners are urging the United States to ratify the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea, under which the ISA was established.
"Over the past year, it's been outstanding to see the growing call for a moratorium from countries in the Pacific, Europe, and Latin America," said Casson. "Responsible nations at the ISA are listening to the mounting science that shows deep-sea mining would cause irreversible damage to the oceans... The momentum is on the side of a moratorium."
There is also pushback. Last week, more than 350 former military and political leaders in the United States including former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton published a letter urging the U.S. Senate to sign and ratify the Law of the Sea in a bid to boost deep-sea mining amid rising international competition for minerals.
"Almost everyone agrees that the United States should ratify the Law of the Sea—it's a no-brainer and has been since the treaty was adopted over 40 years ago. This might be the only thing that Greenpeace and Big Oil agree with each other on," said Arlo Hemphill, who heads the Oceans Are Life campaign at Greenpeace USA.
"Now, deep-sea mining corporation The Metals Company has jumped on the bandwagon, hoping it will increase their chances of making it big after several costly failed ventures," Hemphill added. "With two dozen countries already on the record opposing the launch of deep-sea mining any time soon, there is little possibility it will be permitted."
However, earlier this year Norway became the first country to green-light deep-sea mining, a decision one environmental campaigner warned will have "severe impacts on ocean wildlife."
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Company's Deep-Sea Mining Plans Called 'Big Kick in the Teeth' for Ocean Protectors
"This is a cowboy company running out of cash and trying to ride roughshod over international decisions," said one Greenpeace campaigner.
Aug 02, 2023
Greenpeace on Wednesday again took aim at a Canadian startup after the deep-sea mining company announced its expected application costs, development timeline, and production capacity following an international agency's recent meeting that ended without finalized regulations.
"The Metals Company's (TMC) announcement flies in the face of international opposition to deep-sea mining, and it's a big kick in the teeth for governments that spent three long weeks debating the future of the oceans and concluded this industry should not get a green light," said Greenpeace campaigner Louisa Casson in a statement.
"It's clear that trying to mine the oceans is becoming politically toxic—even more so with zero rules in place. This is bullish talk to try and force governments into rushed decisions, but it will come back to bite them," she continued. "TMC are showing their true colors: This is a cowboy company running out of cash and trying to ride roughshod over international decisions."
Casson added that "instead of acting on scientific findings, which conclusively prove this industry will put the oceans in danger, they're announcing fanciful plans to ramp up production in a desperate attempt to reassure their worried investors and save their plummeting share price."
TMC and the Pacific nation of Nauru worked together in 2021 to pressure the International Seabed Authority (ISA)—which already permits companies to explore the deep sea for research—to finalize global rules for commercial mining by July 2023.
As Common Dreams reported last month, when the ISA Council convened in Jamaica, Greenpeace was among the environmental groups and governments that advocated for a ban on "reckless" deep-sea mining. The meeting wrapped up with negotiators deciding that additional talks on regulations were needed through at least the first half of 2024.
As Greenpeace explained last week, the ISA Council's July decisions "effectively mean that a majority of countries—including Brazil, Costa Rica, Chile, Vanuatu, Germany, and Switzerland—did not yield to pressure from the industry—supported by nations such as Norway, Nauru, and Mexico—to fast-track rules for deep-sea mining."
"Industry frontrunner the Metals Company saw its share price plummet as markets reacted to the news," the group noted. "However, the ISA still failed to close a legal loophole for companies to start mining next year."
As The New York Timesreported last month:
The area of most intense focus is the Clarion-Clipperton Zone, a remote stretch between Mexico and Hawaii where seabed rocks have the highest concentration of metals. The rocks sit 2.5 miles down, so deep that remotely operated machines are needed to lift them to collection ships.
This is the region where the Metals Company wants to begin its mining operations, convinced it can generate $30 billion in post-tax net cash flow over the 25-year life of the initial project. If it is successful, this small company that has never produced a profit would become one of the largest global suppliers of key metals needed for electric vehicle batteries.
TMC announced Tuesday that "subsidiary Nauru Ocean Resources Inc. (NORI) intends to submit an application to the ISA for an exploitation contract for NORI Area D following the July 2024 meeting of the ISA. Assuming a one-year review process, NORI expects to be in production in the fourth quarter of 2025."
TMC chairman and CEO Gerard Barron said that "NORI will monitor closely the progress that the council makes over the next three meetings" and both the parent company and its subsidiary "are prepared to work within the ISA's new roadmap."
"We are pleased to see the ISA's reiteration of their obligation to consider a plan of work when we are ready to lodge it in consultation with our sponsoring state," he added. "Meanwhile, our teams continue work on the scientific evidence to support NORI's application and we will include a campaign to revisit the site of last year's pilot collection trials in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone to further bolster our environmental knowledge. We will continue to share this data openly, with the entire world."
Some scientists have disputed industry claims about the necessity of deep-sea mining—given that metals used in battery-making can be extracted elsewhere—and warned that such activity could cause "irreparable damage" to fragile ecosystems.
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