Source: Greenpeace
Greenpeace is today celebrating the announcement from French President Emmanuel Macron at COP27 that France supports an outright ban on deep sea mining – saying it shows just how quickly the tide is turning against the destructive industry.
“Coming so soon after both the New Zealand and the German governments spoke out against deep sea mining, this shows how fast the movement against dangerous exploitation of the deep sea is gaining momentum,” says Greenpeace Aotearoa seabed mining campaigner James Hita.
“This latest announcement shows the tide is turning on deep sea mining and there is no future for this destructive industry that threatens the health of the ocean and the lives and livelihoods of those who depend on it.
“Right now the Canadian miner ‘The Metals Company’ is winding up deep sea mining tests in the Pacific, but this news must signal to them that they are on a losing wicket.”
Last week, New Zealand announced its support for a ‘conditional moratorium’, closely followed by Germany backing a ‘precautionary pause’ on the industry. They join Palau, Samoa, Fiji, and the Federated States of Micronesia who are also calling for a moratorium. France has taken that position a step further with Macron calling for an outright ban – the first head of state to do so.
Greenpeace Aotearoa is calling for a ban on deep sea mining but supports a moratorium – or pause – as a step in the right direction for ocean protection.
Says Hita: “The movement to halt deep sea mining is strong and it is growing. It started with opposition from civil society and a group of Pacific countries – people who will face the brunt of environmental impacts from deep sea mining – and is now rapidly expanding to include a number of nations.
“This is people-power in action, thousands of people around the world are speaking out against deep sea mining and world leaders are listening. Together we can protect the ocean that connects and nourishes us.”
Macron announced his position on deep sea mining at COP27. It comes as the second week of negotiations at the United Nations International Seabed Authority (ISA) are underway in Jamaica, where member states are negotiating the rules that would allow or disallow deep sea mining to begin.
Without measures in place to prevent it, commercial scale deep sea mining could begin as early as mid 2023 and test mining is already underway with Canadian mining company The Metals Company conducting tests in the Pacific this month – pulling up 3,600 tonnes of polymetallic nodules from the seafloor.
Several nations at the ISA, including Aotearoa, have been calling for a precautionary pause on deep sea mining with the New Zealand government backing a pause until such a time that strong regulations, backed by robust science, are in place to protect the marine environment in international waters.
