No agreement on international rules for deep sea mining

The Advertiser

2 days ago

Delegates from around the world could not agree on a set of rules for deep sea mining at a council meeting of the International Seabed Authority (ISA) in Kingston.
Environmental organisations such as Greenpeace see the failure to agree on a "mining code" as a success for the protection of oceans.
"The ISA has shown backbone - and stood up to the deep-sea mining industry and governments such as the US under (President Donald) Trump," Greenpeace marine biologist Franziska Saalmann said.
There is still no globally accepted set of rules for deep sea mining, in which so-called manganese nodules in particular are mined on the bed of the high seas, in international waters.
Many countries and environmental organisations are calling for a moratorium in view of the risks to the barely explored ecosystems.
The annual meeting of the ISA Assembly also started in Kingston on Monday and will run until July 25. All states parties to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea are automatically members of the ISA Assembly, which comprises 169 states and the European Union.
The assembly's focus will be on fundamental issues relating to the protection of the sea. Observers such as environmental organisations and expert bodies are also participating.
It is important to make it clear "that the deep sea is not a legal vacuum for industrial fantasies, but a global natural heritage that deserves protection," Saalmann said.
In March, an initiative by Canadian company The Metals Company (TMC) came under fire. The company wants to obtain permission to mine in international waters through a partnership with the United States, which is not a UNCLOS signatory. Many states see this as an attempt to circumvent the ISA.
TMC is planning to mine raw materials in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone in the eastern Pacific, where large quantities of manganese nodules containing nickel, cobalt and copper lie on the seabed.
The metals are valuable for manufacturing products such as batteries for electric cars. The ISA has launched an investigation into the company.
Delegates from around the world could not agree on a set of rules for deep sea mining at a council meeting of the International Seabed Authority (ISA) in Kingston.
Environmental organisations such as Greenpeace see the failure to agree on a "mining code" as a success for the protection of oceans.
"The ISA has shown backbone - and stood up to the deep-sea mining industry and governments such as the US under (President Donald) Trump," Greenpeace marine biologist Franziska Saalmann said.
There is still no globally accepted set of rules for deep sea mining, in which so-called manganese nodules in particular are mined on the bed of the high seas, in international waters.
Many countries and environmental organisations are calling for a moratorium in view of the risks to the barely explored ecosystems.
The annual meeting of the ISA Assembly also started in Kingston on Monday and will run until July 25. All states parties to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea are automatically members of the ISA Assembly, which comprises 169 states and the European Union.
The assembly's focus will be on fundamental issues relating to the protection of the sea. Observers such as environmental organisations and expert bodies are also participating.
It is important to make it clear "that the deep sea is not a legal vacuum for industrial fantasies, but a global natural heritage that deserves protection," Saalmann said.
In March, an initiative by Canadian company The Metals Company (TMC) came under fire. The company wants to obtain permission to mine in international waters through a partnership with the United States, which is not a UNCLOS signatory. Many states see this as an attempt to circumvent the ISA.
TMC is planning to mine raw materials in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone in the eastern Pacific, where large quantities of manganese nodules containing nickel, cobalt and copper lie on the seabed.
The metals are valuable for manufacturing products such as batteries for electric cars. The ISA has launched an investigation into the company.
Delegates from around the world could not agree on a set of rules for deep sea mining at a council meeting of the International Seabed Authority (ISA) in Kingston.
Environmental organisations such as Greenpeace see the failure to agree on a "mining code" as a success for the protection of oceans.
"The ISA has shown backbone - and stood up to the deep-sea mining industry and governments such as the US under (President Donald) Trump," Greenpeace marine biologist Franziska Saalmann said.
There is still no globally accepted set of rules for deep sea mining, in which so-called manganese nodules in particular are mined on the bed of the high seas, in international waters.
Many countries and environmental organisations are calling for a moratorium in view of the risks to the barely explored ecosystems.
The annual meeting of the ISA Assembly also started in Kingston on Monday and will run until July 25. All states parties to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea are automatically members of the ISA Assembly, which comprises 169 states and the European Union.
The assembly's focus will be on fundamental issues relating to the protection of the sea. Observers such as environmental organisations and expert bodies are also participating.
It is important to make it clear "that the deep sea is not a legal vacuum for industrial fantasies, but a global natural heritage that deserves protection," Saalmann said.
In March, an initiative by Canadian company The Metals Company (TMC) came under fire. The company wants to obtain permission to mine in international waters through a partnership with the United States, which is not a UNCLOS signatory. Many states see this as an attempt to circumvent the ISA.
TMC is planning to mine raw materials in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone in the eastern Pacific, where large quantities of manganese nodules containing nickel, cobalt and copper lie on the seabed.
The metals are valuable for manufacturing products such as batteries for electric cars. The ISA has launched an investigation into the company.
Delegates from around the world could not agree on a set of rules for deep sea mining at a council meeting of the International Seabed Authority (ISA) in Kingston.
Environmental organisations such as Greenpeace see the failure to agree on a "mining code" as a success for the protection of oceans.
"The ISA has shown backbone - and stood up to the deep-sea mining industry and governments such as the US under (President Donald) Trump," Greenpeace marine biologist Franziska Saalmann said.
There is still no globally accepted set of rules for deep sea mining, in which so-called manganese nodules in particular are mined on the bed of the high seas, in international waters.
Many countries and environmental organisations are calling for a moratorium in view of the risks to the barely explored ecosystems.
The annual meeting of the ISA Assembly also started in Kingston on Monday and will run until July 25. All states parties to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea are automatically members of the ISA Assembly, which comprises 169 states and the European Union.
The assembly's focus will be on fundamental issues relating to the protection of the sea. Observers such as environmental organisations and expert bodies are also participating.
It is important to make it clear "that the deep sea is not a legal vacuum for industrial fantasies, but a global natural heritage that deserves protection," Saalmann said.
In March, an initiative by Canadian company The Metals Company (TMC) came under fire. The company wants to obtain permission to mine in international waters through a partnership with the United States, which is not a UNCLOS signatory. Many states see this as an attempt to circumvent the ISA.
TMC is planning to mine raw materials in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone in the eastern Pacific, where large quantities of manganese nodules containing nickel, cobalt and copper lie on the seabed.
The metals are valuable for manufacturing products such as batteries for electric cars. The ISA has launched an investigation into the company.