Climate groups, states back deep-sea mining moratorium

Climate groups and a number of countries are urging the International Seabed Authority (ISA) to declare a moratorium on deep-sea mining, as the ISA holds its council and assembly meetings this month.

ISA will discuss a proposal to push for the deferment of deep-sea mining during the meetings over 10-28 July. The proposal is led by Chile, Costa Rica, France, Palau, and Vanuatu, and is increasingly being backed by more countries and climate groups.

Deep-sea mining is a process of extracting and excavating minerals through mineral deposits like polymetallic nodules from the seabed at ocean depths deeper than 200m. ISA has so far awarded 31 exploration contracts across multiple zones.

Deep-sea mining RRP The ISA is holding the meetings in Jamaica's Kingston, where countries are now rushing to discuss and adopt rules, regulations and procedures (RRP) related to deep-sea mining after Nauru announced plans to submit a deep-sea mining application.

Nauru in 2021 declared that it wanted to submit the application on behalf of a subsidiary of Canadian mining firm The Metals Company that it sponsors, and triggered a two-year rule that led to the current scramble to finalise RRP by ISA's state members. The rule stipulates that all applications must be considered for "provisional approval", with what this means still being debated.

The rule was supposed to help overcome impasses during negotiations, said World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), but has now led to a procedural dilemma for ISA to determine how applications will be dealt with. WWF urged the ISA to provide clarity on 9 July — the day the rule expired with no definite regulations adopted yet — as it was concerned the expiration might "leave the doors open to any country wanting to submit an application for exploitation, and it is not at all clear what would then happen" since "it would likely take several decades to complete the science needed to finalise regulations".

Deep-sea mining proponents argue that the approach can at least partly satisfy the rapidly rising demand for critical minerals that are essential to establish renewable energy facilities and produce electric vehicles. Demand for lithium has tripled in 2017-22, with cobalt demand surging by 70pc and nickel demand increasing by 40pc, said the IEA in its latest Critical Minerals Market Review 2023 report.

But the move has drawn strong opposition from countries, climate groups and indigenous people because of deep-sea mining's unknown but potentially highly destructible environmental consequences. The IEA also said if all planned critical mineral projects materialise, supply could be sufficient to support the national climate pledges announced by governments, although the IEA's scenario is "far from assured".

Reactions Many countries and climate groups are urging for a moratorium, but a few remain eager to go ahead with deep-sea mining.

A total of 21 countries are now calling for a moratorium, precautionary pause, or an outright ban, according to the Deep Sea Conservation Coalition (DSCC). The latest being Brazil, Finland and Portugal, with Brazil supporting a precautionary pause for at least 10 years, according to think-tank International Institute for Sustainable Development's Earth Negotiations Bulletin. Canada on 10 July said it "will not support the provisional approval of a plan of work", and backs a moratorium on commercial seabed mining in areas beyond national jurisdiction.

US environmental law group Earthjustice supports a moratorium and on 12 July urged ISA to "stand strong against corporate mining interests". DSCC has been delivering interventions at the recent ISA meetings on behalf of a number of climate groups like WWF, Oceans North and Greenpeace International, and urged countries to support a moratorium on 10 July.

"Deep-seabed mining is not necessary, and will come too late to contribute to the energy transition, where minerals primarily are needed in the short term," said WWF's No Deep Seabed Mining Initiative global lead Jessica Battle, referring to the Future is Circular report published by WWF. The report presented models showing new technologies, circular economy models and recycling can cut critical mineral demand by 58pc, with demand estimated at 42.3mn t in 2050 based on IEA's 2050 Net Zero scenario.

But countries like Norway and South Korea are not as keen on a moratorium.

"We need minerals to succeed in the green transition," said Norway's Minister of Petroleum and Energy Terje Aasland in June. "Currently, the resources are controlled by a few countries, which makes us vulnerable. Seabed minerals can become a source of access to essential metals, and no other country is better positioned to take the lead in managing such resources sustainably and responsibly. Success will be crucial for the world's long-term energy transition."

South Korea "believe[s] that commencement of commercial mining shall be addressed in accordance with [United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea] UNCLOS" and called for a quicker finalisation of the RRP, according to DSCC.

The International Renewable Energy Agency adopted a more neutral attitude in its recent report on geopolitical risks related to critical minerals, where it said a "cautious approach is warranted" because of "uncertainties surrounding the environmental impact and regulatory frameworks, along with the presence of ample terrestrial reserves."

By Joseph Ho

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