Environmental Groups Call for Moratorium on Deep-Sea Mining Ahead of Key UN Meeting

Increased demand for metals drives mining corporates to consider the ocean floor, raising environmental concerns; over 20 countries and several major companies advocate for a pause on deep-sea mineral extraction.

Ahead of a crucial UN meeting, environmental groups are advocating for a moratorium on deep-sea mining due to the potential ecological impacts. Over 20 countries, including Monaco, and several companies like Samsung and BMW, have pledged not to use minerals mined from the ocean floor.
The push for deep-sea mining is fueled by the growing demand for metals like copper, nickel, and cobalt, crucial for clean energy technologies such as electric vehicles, solar panels, and wind turbines. The demand for lithium has tripled from 2017 to 2022 while cobalt saw a 70% increase and nickel a 40% rise.
Mining companies argue that deep-sea mining is a cheaper and less environmentally damaging alternative to land mining. However, environmental groups and scientists counter this by noting that less than 1% of the world's deep sea has been explored, raising concerns about potential noisy, light, and dust-infused disturbances to the underwater ecosystem.
The International Seabed Authority, tasked with overseeing deep international waters, has granted over 30 exploration licenses primarily in the Clarion-Clipperton Fracture Zone between Hawaii and Mexico. Of those, China holds the most, with five to its name. However, no provisional mining licenses have been issued yet.
There are concerns over the International Seabed Authority's push to adopt a mining code by 2025, as it is believed this could hasten the commencement of deep-sea mining. Critics note that the existence of the authority is reliant on such mining activities beginning, as it would be financed by royalties from mining contracts.