From Bloomberg via the Taipei Times, November 9/10:
At least 10 member states of a global body regulating ocean mining want to pause the practice because of a lack of scientific data on its environmental impact
As world leaders gather at the UN climate summit in Egypt this week, another international meeting is under way in Jamaica to decide the fate of the planet’s oceans.
The UN-affiliated International Seabed Authority (ISA) is convening in Kingston to fast-track regulations that could allow the mining of fragile and biodiverse deep sea ecosystems for valuable metals as soon as 2024. However, as the ISA Council, the organization’s policymaking body, concluded its first week of meetings on Friday last week, a growing number of countries were calling for a halt to the rush to enact mining regulations by July next year, a deadline established last year.
Among the council’s 36 member states, Germany, France, Spain, Costa Rica, New Zealand, Chile, Panama, Fiji and Micronesia last week demanded a “precautionary pause” or a moratorium on mining due to a lack of scientific data on the areas of the seabed targeted for exploitation.
On Monday, at COP27 in Egypt, French President Emmanuel Macron called for an outright ban on deep-sea mining. Meanwhile, Brazil, the Netherlands, Portugal, Singapore, Switzerland and other council members also indicated they would not approve any mining contracts until sufficient environmental protections for unique deep ocean ecosystems are in place, regardless of the July deadline.
However, some states, including the UK and Norway, expressed confidence that the regulations could be finalized by the deadline. China cautioned against focusing “single-handedly on only the protection of the environment.”
“Given the amount of work still before us ... the likelihood that the regulations, and standards and guidelines will be finalized by July 2023 is close to zero,” Belgian Ambassador to Jamaica Hugo Verbist told the council on Friday. “Uncertainty, especially legal uncertainty, is the last thing anyone needs as far as deep-sea mining is concerned. The stakes for mankind are too high.”....
....MUCH MORE, rather a deep dive, so to speak
