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During the two-week Council meeting, ISA Member States will continue to debate the draft Mining Code, which fails to provide environmental safeguards for the deep-sea. The meeting is being held against the backdrop of increasing pressure as mining companies continue to push for States to decide on the evaluation process in the absence of a Mining Code.
It’s what groups including the Deep Sea Conservation Coalition have called a ‘blatant attempt to exert pressure with the goal of exploitation as soon as possible.’
“We are expecting it to become very clear at the March meeting that the Mining Code will not be adopted any time in the near future,” said Emma Wilson, policy officer at the Deep Sea Conservation Coalition.
“There are over 200 textual elements that are still under debate, as well as numerous major outstanding issues, ranging from the benefit-sharing mechanism, to contractor liability, to the need for a General Policy for the protection of the environment.
“At this meeting, pro-mining States are requesting to establish a process for assessing a mining application in the absence of a Mining Code. We urge ISA Member States not to be pressured into any hasty decisions that would open the gates to mining going ahead in such a high-risk environment.”
Calls to halt deep-sea mining are escalating worldwide. No fewer than 32 governments are now calling for a moratorium, precautionary pause, or ban alongside Indigenous groups, scientists, businesses, the financial sector, human rights leaders, fishers, and many civil society organisations. These calls are being backed by a consensus of independent scientists who assert there is currently no way to avoid widespread environmental harm if the ISA permits deep-sea mining.
Meanwhile, the Deep Sea Conservation Coalition heavily cites research published just this month which confirms that extending mining into the ocean “is not needed to support the green transition.”
Matthew Gianni, co-founder and political advisor at the Deep Sea Conservation Coalition, said: “The industry faces massive technical hurdles, high operating costs, mounting regulatory and liability risks, and unpredictable prices for metals that the world doesn’t even need to source from the deep seabed.
“Yet, several companies are demanding that the ISA establish regulations to allow them to deep-sea mine in international waters to attempt to make a profit at the expense of ocean health. The economics simply do not support deep-sea mining as a viable or sustainable industry. Deep-sea mining is about greed, not need.”
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