Environmental activists have called on the international community to impose a moratorium on deep-sea mining.
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Brazilian marine scientist Leticia Carvalho will become the first woman, oceanographer and Latin American to lead the International Seabed Authority, which she says “feels great.”
“I’m very proud,” Carvalho told CNBC via video conference. “I think it makes a lot of sense for someone new, fresh and with a different perspective to take over.”
The ISA is a little-known United Nations regulatory agency that oversees deep-sea mining and is responsible for the development and protection of the area, which covers about 54% world oceans.
Carvalho recent Defeats incumbent Michael Lodge for top job heated debate The election was promoted as a potentially fateful moment trillions of dollars industry. Her four-year term as ISA president will begin on January 1, 2025.
Important minerals such as cobalt, nickel, copper and manganese can be found in potato-sized nodules at the bottom of the ocean floor.
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Carvalho’s electoral victory comes as heated debate About deep sea mining and the future of the world’s oceans.
this controversial practice Deep-sea mining involves using heavy machinery to remove minerals and metals such as cobalt, nickel, copper and manganese from the seafloor, where they accumulate into potato-sized nodules.
These minerals have a wide range of end uses, including electric vehicle batteries, wind turbines and solar panels.
Scientists warn that the full environmental impact of deep-sea mining is difficult to predict. Meanwhile, environmental campaign groups explain This practice cannot be sustained and will inevitably lead to ecosystem destruction and species extinction.
If there was a mining development request on my desk without mining code, I would be very worried.
Leticia Carvalho
brazilian marine scientist
The ISA Council is an organization composed of 36 member countries. recent concluded a series of meetings in Jamaica aimed at drafting a mining code to regulate the mining and exploitation of seabed polymetallic nodules and other deposits before mining activities begin.
Negotiators are working to ensure formal rules are in place by the end of 2025, and Carvalho said it was still feasible for member states to achieve that goal.
“My obligation as secretary-general is to lay the groundwork so that they can complete their work by the end of next year. I will do everything in my power to do that,” Carvalho said.
‘Cacophony and chaos’
In 2021, the Pacific island nation of Nauru notified the ISA of its intention to begin deep-sea mining, prompting all parties to agree on mining regulations.
This gave rise to a controversial provision in UNCLOS, the “two-year rule”, which allows mining applications to be submitted regardless of whether mining regulations are finalized.
This has led some companies to pursue Aggressive timetable Metals Corporation of Canada (TMC) said in 2023 that it intended to seek licenses to extract minerals from the seabed by the end of the year.
Metals Chairman and CEO Gerald Barron wants his company to mine nickel, cobalt and manganese on the Pacific Ocean floor.
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Asked about the TMC’s plans, Carvalho responded: “That’s fair. It’s part of the law and they have the right to make their demands.”
But she warned there was a risk of litigation in this case. “I would be very worried about mining requests if there was no mining code,” Carvalho said.
“In my experience, regulatory stability is really critical for business and society. If there is no stability, there will be discord and chaos because that creates space for litigation at different levels,” she added road.
“Deep-sea mining in particular as an activity has many players, which means that many courts will be called upon to express their opinions, not only at an international level but also at a national level.”
An ‘exciting’ dark oxygen study
Carvalho, who previously headed the United Nations’ oceans and freshwater division, said her first priority as head of the ISA will be the management of the regulatory agency itself.
“It’s clear to me that the first issue is the governance of the ISA itself. It’s clear that I need to rebuild trust,” Carvalho said.
“I don’t want to criticize anyone or any individual specifically, but I think the fact is, there’s a lot of transparency and accountability that needs to be put in place.”
An international team of scientists has discovered that oxygen is produced in complete darkness about 4,000 meters below the surface of the ocean.
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Five recent statements supporting precautionary moratoriums or moratoriums on emerging industries mean More than 30 countries There is now a call to stop deep sea mining.
Soon after a pause, the pause gains momentum groundbreaking research Polymetallic nodules thousands of feet below the surface of the Pacific Ocean have been found to be producing so-called “dark oxygen.”
The findings were published in natural geosciences Last month’s magazine may raise new concerns about the risks of deep-sea mining.
Carvalho called the findings “exciting” and added that environmental issues should be at the top of the ISA’s agenda.
Asked about calls by environmental groups to protect the deep sea from heavy mining machines, Carvalho responded: “I would say that this protection must be provided in the mining regulations through the ISA. I don’t see any other instrument in the world. This can be done.
Carvalho said she is not afraid of the debate over the future of deep-sea mining.
“I’m on the contrary, I fully accept it because that’s what the ISA has to do. The ISA leadership has to read in its entirety what is written in the law, which is to have a set of mining regulations, to comply with what the law says: to say that the ocean should not be harmed,” Carvalho said.
“What is the definition of harm? That’s something we have to discuss,” she added.
