ISA negotiations: no rules yet for deep- • Table.Briefings

By last Sunday, the International Seabed Authority (ISA) was supposed to present a set of rules for mining in the deep sea. This deadline has passed without any result, so the current negotiations are mainly about how to proceed without rules. More and more countries and the EU are calling for a moratorium.

200 meters below sea level begins the deep sea, the largest ecosystem on the planet and the habitat of millions of species. Many of them have not yet been discovered. Other treasures are stored in rocks, crusts and nodules at depths of 2,000 to 6,000 meters: Manganese, iron and metals such as cobalt, nickel and copper – raw materials that the EU Commission classifies as strategically important for digitization, the energy and mobility revolution, and for greater independence from imports from countries such as China.

ISA negotiations: no rules yet for deep-sea mining

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