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Straits Times
3 days ago
- Business
- Straits Times
Seabed-mining firm faces legal questions over controversial Trump policy
The Metals Company CEO Gerard Barron speaking at the opening of the company's public trading, at Times Square in Manhattan, in 2021. Two months ago, President Donald Trump took an extraordinary step toward issuing permits to mine vast tracts of the ocean floor in international waters where valuable minerals are abundant. It was a boon to The Metals Company, an ambitious startup that had already spent more than a half-billion dollars preparing to become the world's first commercial seabed miner. Within days of Mr Trump's executive order, the company submitted its application to the federal government. As a result, some of the company's international partners are now questioning their relationships with The Metals Company. Mr Trump's order conflicts with a long-standing treaty known as the Law of the Sea, potentially exposing them to legal risks. The issue with The Metals Company's seabed-mining application is that nearly every country in the world, but not the United States, has signed the Law of the Sea treaty. Its language is clear: Mining in areas outside a country's territorial waters before nations agree on how to handle the practice is not just a breach of international law, but an affront to 'the common heritage of mankind'. In May, a Japanese firm that The Metals Company has partnered with in the past to process minerals from seabed-mining test runs, said it was 'carefully discussing the matter with TMC,' citing the importance of doing business with companies 'via a route that has earned international credibility'. In June, the Dutch parliament, noting that The Metals Company would be using a ship belonging to Allseas, a half-Dutch company, voted to request that the Dutch government 'take and support any possible (legal) action against the US and The Metals Company' if they mine in international waters. At this month's meetings of the International Seabed Authority, or ISA, which is a United Nations-affiliated body that administers the Law of the Sea, delegates hotly debated whether to strip The Metals Company and its partners of exploration permits it had obtained through the ISA in recent years and would soon need to extend. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore S'poreans aged 21 to 59 can claim $600 SG60 vouchers from July 22 Singapore Miscalculated grants: Overpayments amounted to $7m for most people, a shortage of $2m to others, says MOH Singapore Changi Airport handles 17.5 million passengers in Q2 2025 Singapore 2 charged over alleged involvement in posting of bail for man who subsequently absconded Singapore Teen charged after allegedly selling vaporisers, advertising e-cigarettes on WhatsApp Life Having a workout partner could be the secret to sticking to your fitness goals Singapore 2,500 turtles seized in India and sent back to S'pore, put down humanely after salmonella detected Singapore Ports and planes: The 2 Singapore firms helping to keep the world moving In an interview on July 18, Gerard Barron, CEO of The Metals Company, dismissed the concerns. 'I see those threats as nothing but wing-flapping,' he said. Mr Barron said that because the United States was the world's most powerful economy, his company's international partners would simply have to deal with the impending reality of commercial seabed mining and adapt their stances on international law. He also said that his company's US permit to start mining in international waters would be issued 'sooner than people expect'. The Metals Company could process its minerals in Indonesia rather than Japan, Mr Barron said, noting that Indonesia and the United States signed a hard-fought trade agreement last week. And that Allseas could relocate out of the Netherlands, a move the company's CEO, Pieter Heerema, alluded to in recent comments to the Dutch press. 'We don't have to, but must be able to consider it,' Mr Heerema said. 'The Netherlands was attractive – now it isn't.' At a recent UN conference in France, Nathan Nagy, a legal adviser to the US State Department made a forceful speech defending his country's stance on seabed mining in international waters, reiterating that the United States has 'never considered' the Law of the Sea to 'reflect customary international law'. Mr Barron said his company opted to apply for a US permit because the ISA had failed for many years to issue the regulations necessary to begin issuing its own extraction permits in international waters. The ISA had pledged to settle those regulations by this year, but is widely expected to miss that deadline. Delegates at the ongoing ISA's talks in Kingston, Jamaica, described feverish, closed-door sessions filled with debate over how to address the Trump administration's decision to start allowing seabed mining in international waters. On July 21, the organisation's council, made up of 36 elected member states, stopped short of punitive action but passed a resolution urging the body's legal and technical committee to investigate 'noncompliance' by its signatories. ISA member states are bound by the Law of the Sea to prevent public and private entities in their countries from doing business with anyone mining without an ISA permit, which is precisely what The Metals Company is aiming to do. 'TMC has been testing the limits of what it can get away with, a bit like a child seeing how far it can go with bad behavior,' said Matthew Gianni, co-founder of the Deep Sea Conservation Coalition, who was present at the talks in Kingston. 'The member countries of the ISA have basically sent a shot across the bow, a warning to TMC that going rogue may well result in the loss of its ISA exploration claims,' he said. 'It also sends a signal to other companies that if they go the same route as TMC has, they may also face the same consequences.' The ISA's draft regulations, which already stretch to nearly 200 pages, remained largely unsettled. The process has been stymied by disagreements over environmental regulations, including how much sediment seabed miners would be allowed to put back in the water, as well as how much in royalties miners would owe to countries sponsoring their permits. The ISA's Brazilian secretary-general, Leticia Carvalho, told delegates in a speech that completing the regulations as soon as possible was 'the best tool we have to prevent the chaos that unilateral action could bring.' 'What will prevent the Wild West are the rules,' she said. The Metals Company's ISA-issued exploration permits were obtained through intermediaries in the small South Pacific island nations of Nauru and Tonga. They pertain to areas within a vast stretch of ocean floor about halfway between Mexico and Hawaii, called the Clarion-Clipperton Zone. The seabed there is blanketed with potato-size nodules containing large proportions of manganese and smaller amounts of nickel, cobalt and copper, all of which have growing uses in military equipment, electronics and large-scale industries such as steelmaking. The United States considers those metals critical to national security and has sought new sources of them because China dominates current supply chains. No commercial-scale seabed mining has ever taken place. The technological hurdles are high, and there have been serious concerns about the environmental consequences in the deep sea, a region of the planet that is little understood to science. Anticipating that mining would eventually be allowed, companies like Barron's have invested heavily in developing technologies to mine the ocean floors. This includes ships with huge claws that would extend down to the seabed, as well as autonomous vehicles attached to gargantuan vacuums that would scour the ocean floor. NYTIMES
Time Business News
30-06-2025
- Health
- Time Business News
Dr. Anosh Ahmed Selected by UN-Affiliated Health Group to Lead COVID-19 Strategy in Northern Africa
CHICAGO, IL — June 29, 2025 — In a major step toward global health equity, a United Nations-affiliated health organization has officially appointed Dr. Anosh Ahmed to lead the creation of standardized COVID-19 protocols for underserved areas in Northern Africa. This effort aims to strengthen healthcare infrastructure in some of the most challenging environments in the world. With healthcare gaps still lingering in the post-pandemic era, this initiative reflects an urgent international push to deliver scalable solutions to remote and marginalized regions. Dr. Ahmed, known for his leadership during the U.S. COVID-19 crisis, brings both strategic vision and practical experience to this high-impact role. Anosh Ahmed has built a reputation as a decisive leader in public health, especially during times of crisis. During the peak of the pandemic, he led high-volume COVID-19 testing and vaccination operations across cities like Chicago and Houston. These community-focused programs served tens of thousands of individuals—particularly those in low-income neighborhoods, public housing, and high-risk environments. Through close collaboration with city governments, hospitals, and public health departments, Dr. Ahmed helped ensure that underserved populations received critical access to vaccines, testing, and information. His work demonstrated how medical logistics, community trust, and public education could be integrated to achieve real-world results. Now, he takes that expertise global. In his new role, Dr. Anosh Ahmed will develop Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) that serve as a foundation for COVID-19 testing, vaccine delivery, and mobile field operations in Northern Africa. The geographic scope includes regions where conventional healthcare systems either do not exist or are severely under-resourced—such as refugee camps, conflict recovery zones, nomadic communities, and rural border areas. Designing cold-chain logistics for vaccine delivery in areas without electricity. for vaccine delivery in areas without electricity. Establishing mobile testing sites that can operate without laboratory infrastructure. that can operate without laboratory infrastructure. Training local health workers to carry out procedures independently. to carry out procedures independently. Implementing community outreach models that overcome healthcare skepticism. that overcome healthcare skepticism. Developing communication strategies that respect cultural and linguistic diversity. The goal is to create frameworks that are not only medically sound but also highly adaptable to real-world conditions on the ground. While the protocols will align with existing World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines, the implementation strategy will be locally focused. Dr. Ahmed and his team will work alongside local health officials, NGOs, and community stakeholders to customize SOPs according to regional challenges and capacities. This bottom-up approach ensures that protocols are not just written in theory but actively usable in practice—taking into account terrain, infrastructure, culture, and available personnel. 'Good healthcare is not just about accuracy—it's about access and accountability,' said Dr. Anosh Ahmed. 'This project is a commitment to both science and humanity. We're building models that communities can trust and sustain well beyond COVID-19.' One of the major challenges this initiative addresses is the deep mistrust of institutional healthcare in many parts of Northern Africa. Misinformation, cultural disconnection, and historical neglect have made some communities hesitant to engage with formal health services. Dr. Ahmed's strategy includes trust-building at the grassroots level by: Partnering with local leaders and influencers . . Conducting multi-language awareness campaigns . . Offering women-led health education teams in communities with gender sensitivity. in communities with gender sensitivity. Leveraging religious and tribal networks for vaccine promotion. By embedding cultural sensitivity into the protocols, the initiative aims to create lasting relationships between healthcare providers and the people they serve. While this program focuses on COVID-19, its long-term value lies in its scalability. Dr. Ahmed's SOPs are being designed as templates that can be adapted to other infectious diseases, health emergencies, and humanitarian crises. The first phase of deployment is expected to begin later this year in targeted regions. Data collected from the rollout will help refine the SOPs, making them even more adaptable for future use. The broader vision is to create a repeatable model that international agencies can deploy anywhere global health access is limited—offering life-saving support in real time. Dr. Anosh Ahmed is a physician, healthcare executive, and public health strategist based in Chicago, Illinois. He has played a pivotal role in large-scale pandemic response efforts across the United States and now works with international organizations to develop sustainable, inclusive healthcare models. Dr. Ahmed is recognized not only for his clinical expertise but also for his ability to lead teams, manage healthcare logistics, and build trust within the communities he serves. His work continues to bridge the gap between medical science and community-based care—both locally and globally. TIME BUSINESS NEWS
Scientific American
06-06-2025
- General
- Scientific American
Tree Planting Efforts Could Actually Worsen Climate Change
CLIMATEWIRE | Carbon markets that fund forest preservation and tree-planting might actually be worsening climate change by increasing risks for wildfires that emit massive levels of greenhouse gases, a new United Nations-affiliated report says. Forests have been seen as one of the most effective places to counter climate change by absorbing carbon emissions. But that's changed, says a May paper from the United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health (UNU-INWEH), an academic arm of the international U.N. In the past decade, wildfires of record-breaking size have erupted in places such as Canada, Australia, Siberia and the Amazon rainforest. This week, forest wildfires forced evacuations of thousands of Canadians in Manitoba and Alberta provinces. On supporting science journalism If you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today. 'Forests and peatlands have increasingly transitioned into massive carbon emitters in many parts of the world due to increasing wildfires,' the report says. Climate policies and carbon-mitigation activities 'fail to account for these substantial emissions.' The report highlights weaknesses in a central global strategy for addressing climate change — planting and protecting trees — which has attracted billions of dollars from polluters that fund the projects to offset their own carbon emissions. A large share of the money is paid through the voluntary carbon market, a largely unregulated system that has come under increasing scrutiny over its integrity. Recent major wildfires have been particularly harmful. The 2023 forest wildfires in Canada emitted more greenhouse gases than the total industrial emissions of any country in the world except for China and India, Ju Hyoung Lee, a research fellow at UNU and lead author of the report, said in an interview from Seoul, South Korea. In California, wildfires in 2024 destroyed parts of forests that were supposed to be storing carbon through an offset program under the state's cap-and-trade carbon market. Without systematic monitoring of forest conditions, the paper says, the voluntary carbon market and other policies that promote forests 'may unintentionally exacerbate wildfire hazards.' Planting new trees to absorb carbon could have the opposite effect, the report says, as more heat and increased carbon dioxide emissions from climate change accelerate forest growth while also depleting soil moisture. 'Planting more and more trees in such an environment with the purpose of carbon mitigation will likely increase carbon emissions due to future fires,' the report warns. When the businesses certifying forest projects in the voluntary carbon market consider wildfire risk, they normally look at historical incidents of fires, Lee said. But, she added, 'Forests are changing, and our forests [won't] be like what it was like for the last 20 years." Historical data often leaves out the past five years, which includes some of the worst fires on record, Lee said. As a result, fire risk is typically underestimated by nonprofits such as Verra, which sets standards for and certifies climate projects to be listed on the voluntary market, Lee said. Representatives for Verra did not respond to a request for comment. Concerns about forests and their changing dynamics have existed for more than a decade, Kaveh Madani, director of the UNU-INWEH, said in an interview from Toronto. The report hopes to get the message out, Madani said, that existing forest programs and certification standards were developed using science that's now outdated — and the projects 'can increase the risk of increased emissions, in some cases.' Madani emphasized that not all forest programs in the voluntary carbon market and elsewhere create a wildfire threat. The paper advocates reforming the voluntary carbon market and similar systems to better account for forest conditions and to prevent unintended consequences, including more wildfires. Rainfall, soil health, and expected future droughts and heat waves should be considered before approving forest projects 'as a carbon emissions reduction solution,' the paper says. Satellite observations could identify areas where forests are growing and fuels are accumulating, leading them to be excluded from carbon markets 'due to the potential high emissions in case of future fires,' the paper says. The risk of wildfire and other environmental conditions that could damage forests 'must be included in our planning for the future and the schemes that we have in place,' Madani said.
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Business Standard
22-05-2025
- Business
- Business Standard
Trump admin to weigh request for leasing seabed mining of critical minerals
President Trump signed an order last month directing NOAA to fast-track permits for companies seeking to mine the ocean floor in US and international waters AP Washington The Trump administration said Wednesday that it will consider selling leases to extract minerals from the seabed off the South Pacific island of American Samoa, a potential first step in a wider industry push to allow deep-sea mining that environmentalists oppose because they say it could irreparably harm marine ecosystems. The Department of Interior said it is responding to an April request from California-based company Impossible Metals for a commercial auction. The company wants to mine the ocean floor for deposits of nickel, cobalt and other critical minerals. Last month, President Trump signed an executive order directing the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to fast-track permits for companies to mine the ocean floor in US and international waters. The move comes amid the Trump administration's trade war with China, which controls many critical minerals such as nickel, cobalt and manganese used in high-tech manufacturing, including for military uses. Critical minerals are fundamental to strengthening our nation's resilience and safeguarding our national interests, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said in a news release. He said the upcoming evaluation could be a prelude to future mining in the US Outer Continental Shelf. Environmentalists worry that ocean mining could harm fisheries and even affect oceans' ability to absorb and store carbon dioxide, the main driver of global warming. More than 30 countries, as well as fisheries trade groups, environmentalists and some auto and tech companies, have called for a moratorium on seabed mining. We're ready for a fight as Trump's dangerous deep-sea mining obsession worsens, said Miyoko Sakashita, oceans director at the Centre for Biological Diversity. Mining the ocean floor will damage fragile habitat and unique critters we haven't even discovered yet. Island communities depend on healthy oceans and declaring open season on mineral prospecting puts people and wildlife at risk. Impossible Metals said it has developed an autonomous underwater robot that uses artificial intelligence to minimise harm to marine life and habitat. Beginning the process to access seabed minerals from our own waters is a big win for the US (by) securing critical minerals here at home instead of relying on foreign competitors," Impossible Metals CEO Oliver Gunasekara said in an email. "We're ready to work with all stakeholders to show that bold innovation, economic prosperity, and environmental protection can go together. Burgum said the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management will undertake a multistep evaluation, starting with public input. Opponents say any US approval of deep-sea mining would ignore an ongoing process to adopt international rules for the practice. Most countries in the 1990s joined a United Nations-affiliated International Seabed Authority to govern seabed mining in international waters. But the US never signed on to the effort, which hasn't yet adopted rules. Countries can approve mining in their own territorial waters, so Impossible Metals wouldn't need permission from the authority. Canada-based The Metals Company has said it plans to apply this year through a US subsidiary for permits to mine in international waters.
21-05-2025
- Business
Trump administration will evaluate request to sell leases for seabed mining of critical minerals
The Trump administration said Wednesday that it will consider selling leases to extract minerals from the seabed off the South Pacific island of American Samoa, a potential first step in a wider industry push to allow deep-sea mining that environmentalists oppose because they say it could irreparably harm marine ecosystems. The Department of Interior said it is responding to an April request from California-based company Impossible Metals for a commercial auction. The company wants to mine the ocean floor for deposits of nickel, cobalt and other critical minerals. Last month, President Trump signed an executive order directing the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to fast-track permits for companies to mine the ocean floor in U.S. and international waters. The move comes amid the Trump administration's trade war with China, which controls many critical minerals such as nickel, cobalt and manganese used in high-tech manufacturing, including for military uses. 'Critical minerals are fundamental to strengthening our nation's resilience and safeguarding our national interests,' Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said in a news release. He said the upcoming evaluation could be a prelude to future mining in the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf. Environmentalists worry that allowing more ocean mining could harm fisheries and even affect oceans' ability to absorb and store carbon dioxide, the main driver of global warming. More than 30 countries, as well as fisheries trade groups, environmentalists and some auto and tech companies, have called for a moratorium on seabed mining. 'We're ready for a fight as Trump's dangerous deep-sea mining obsession worsens,' said Miyoko Sakashita, oceans director at the Center for Biological Diversity. 'Mining the ocean floor will damage fragile habitat and unique critters we haven't even discovered yet. Island communities depend on healthy oceans and declaring open season on mineral prospecting puts people and wildlife at risk.' Impossible Metals did not immediately respond to a voicemail and email seeking comment. It says on its website that it has developed an autonomous underwater robot that uses artificial intelligence to minimize harm to marine life and habitat. Burgum said the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management will undertake a multistep evaluation, starting by asking for public input. Opponents say any U.S. approval of deep-sea mining would ignore an ongoing process to adopt international rules for the practice. Most countries in the 1990s joined a United Nations-affiliated International Seabed Authority to govern seabed mining in international waters. But the U.S. never signed on to the effort, which hasn't yet adopted rules. Countries can approve mining in their own territorial waters, so Impossible Metals wouldn't need permission from the authority. Canada-based The Metals Company has said it plans to apply for permits this year through a U.S. subsidiary to mine in international waters. ___
