New York City, NY (July 15, 2024)—On July 13, a “Stop Deep Sea Mining” LED display commissioned by Greenpeace USA appeared on a towering billboard in the heart of New York’s Times Square. The display, which showcases the wonders of the deep ocean threatened by this industry, will run from July 13–19. It coincides with a July 15 meeting of the International Seabed Authority (ISA), the Jamaica-based international organization tasked to protect and regulate the seabed, where a discussion on a moratorium on deep sea mining is on the agenda for the first time.
Given the paucity of science, a pause or moratorium on deep sea mining is supported by 27 governments to date, including Brazil, Canada, Chile, France, Germany, Mexico, New Zealand, Palau, and the United Kingdom. More than 800 scientists and marine policy experts; and 47 business and financial institutions, including tech giants and electric vehicle manufacturers Google, Samsung, Volkswagen, Rivian, BMW, and Renault, also support a moratorium. The UN Human Rights Commissioner, International Union for the Conservation of Nature, civil society groups, and Indigenous groups from Hawai’i and the Pacific at large – whose lives and livelihoods rely on the ocean – have also echoed this call.
Despite these concerns, deep sea mining corporation The Metals Company (TMC) intends to be the first to mine the seafloor commercially. The company has announced it will submit a deep sea mining license application following the July 15 ISA meeting, even though a mining code is far from completion.
Jackie Dragon, Greenpeace USA’s Senior Oceans Campaigner, said: “Deep Sea Mining companies plan to destroy our oceans for profit, despite growing calls for a moratorium, with countries arguing we need to listen to science and safeguard the world’s last untouched frontiers. The magnitude of the threat is still not fully understood, but we know that it will irreversibly impact an oceanic area equivalent to the size of the continental U.S. and worsen the already critical state of the World’s oceans. We won’t stop speaking the truth to these destructive companies, and we will take our message to stop deep sea mining anywhere the industry goes, whether it is an iconic billboard used to raise awareness, taking peaceful action at sea, or a diplomatic meeting in Jamaica.”
In its recently released 2023 annual report, TMC acknowledged an array of obstacles that cast a shadow over its operational progress and future viability. These include uncertainty in sourcing enough and adequate minerals to justify the commercial effort and difficulties in getting market acceptance for certain mineral products due to the negative image of deep-sea mining, particularly due to the impact it will have on biodiversity. TMC is also currently under investigation by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for misleading investors and faces resistance from international investors and major banks, who have shunned funding for deep-sea mining.
Victor Vescovo, a renowned marine explorer and technologist, said: “Deep sea mining is really just strip-mining the seafloor. Financially, it’s a long-term bet that battery technology will not significantly shift away from using cobalt and nickel — even though it already is, and quite dramatically. It doesn’t make good financial sense to invest billions into an untested industry that eviscerates little-understood ecosystems just to add capacity in single-digit percentages to world metals production. Investors really need to exercise caution against falling for this poorly-veiled greenwashing narrative. Technically, economically, environmentally, and even legally, it’s not a sound, risk-adjusted investment.”
Dr. Sylvia Earle, the esteemed marine biologist and oceanographer, said: “Those marketing myths for short-term profit will cost civilization and ocean health permanent devastating loss. In ignorance of knowledge gained in recent decades, mining the deep sea may have seemed appealing. But a new understanding of alternative technologies, insights into the economic realities, the irreversible catastrophic impacts on ocean life, and the weight of moral liability imposed on this generation make further action to mine the deep sea absurdly irresponsible and just plain wrong.”
Until recently, the industry 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 necessity for seafloor minerals and a notable decline in metal prices, deep sea mining corporations have strategically pivoted, fervently advocating for deep-sea mining (DSM) as an urgent national security priority, exploiting geopolitical tensions to galvanize industry backing.
U.S. House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) and Rep. Ed Case (D-Hawaii), along with a dozen House Democrats, have cited the triple planetary crisis of biodiversity loss, climate change, and pollution as they called on President Biden to support a moratorium on deep sea mining. The Representatives emphasized the need to take precautions to ensure that robust science informs any movement to begin deep sea mining.
In July 2023, U.S. Congressman Ed Case (HI-01) introduced two measures calling for a moratorium on deep seabed mining unless and until its consequences are fully understood and an appropriate protective regulatory regime is established. Hawaii Governor Josh Green signed a bill into law last week prohibiting the mining, extraction, and removal of minerals from the seabed in all of the state’s marine waters. The bill also prohibits the issuance of any permit for or in connection with the development or operation of any facility or infrastructure associated with the mining, extracting, or removing of minerals from the seabed within state marine waters.
Greenpeace Stop Deep Sea Mining campaigner Louisa Casson said: “For too long, Pacific voices have been shut out of rooms where decisions about the ocean are made, even though they would be on the frontline if deep sea mining gets approval. Hawaii’s bold ban on this destructive industry is fantastic news, as millions of people around the world are saying loud and clear that we need to listen to science and the people who have lived by the ocean for centuries. We are urging governments to listen to the calls from the Pacific, recognize what’s at stake, and halt deep sea mining.”
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Photos and videos are available here.
Victor L. Vescovo is a marine explorer and technology developer who has personally explored 17 deep ocean trenches. He served 20 years in the US Navy Reserve, has degrees from Stanford University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and graduated as a Baker Scholar from Harvard Business School. For over 25 years, he has analyzed and led industrial investments in a variety of industries, including metals processing.
Dr. Sylvia Earle is an American oceanographer, scuba diver, and research scientist. She founded Mission Blue, an organization dedicated to protecting the ocean from threats like climate change, pollution, habitat destruction, invasive species, and the dramatic decrease in ocean fish stocks.
Contact: Tanya Brooks, Greenpeace USA Senior Communications Specialist, P: 703-342-9226, E: [email protected]
Greenpeace USA is part of a global network of independent campaigning organizations that use peaceful protest and creative communication to expose global environmental problems and promote solutions that are essential to a green and peaceful future. Greenpeace USA is committed to transforming the country’s unjust social, environmental, and economic systems from the ground up to address the climate crisis, advance racial justice, and build an economy that puts people first. Learn more at www.greenpeace.org
