Washington, DC (January 22, 2026)—In response to The Metals Company’s announcement that it has filed the first consolidated deep-seabed mining application, John Hocevar, Greenpeace USA Oceans Campaign Director, said: “At a moment when the Trump administration is openly testing the limits of international law and rejecting long-standing global norms, The Metals Company is trying to turn that instability into corporate opportunity by fast-tracking deep-sea mining in international waters. This is a cynical, morally bankrupt attempt to convince investors that deep sea mining has a future, when there is little chance it will get off the ground before Trump leaves the White House and more rational heads prevail.”
“Deep sea mining is being rushed forward without adequate regulations, without full scientific understanding of the risks, and despite clear evidence that it is an economically reckless bet that could spell disaster for the most pristine ecosystems left on Earth. This is a speculative company trying to bully its way into legitimacy by shrinking the rules instead of meeting them. No executive order changes the law — the deep sea remains governed by the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea, and efforts to abandon that system threaten international cooperation and investor confidence alike.”
“We call on the international community — especially the dozens of governments that have already called for a moratorium, pause or ban and ratified the Global Ocean Treaty — to reject this latest act of global bullying and to defend the ocean as the common heritage of humankind, not the next playground for corporate profiteering at the expense of future generations.”
Contacts:
Tanya Brooks, Senior Communications Specialist at Greenpeace USA, [email protected]
Greenpeace USA Press Desk: [email protected]
Greenpeace USA (inc.) is part of a global network of independent campaigning organizations that use peaceful protest and creative communication to expose global environmental problems and promote solutions that are essential to a green and peaceful future. Greenpeace USA is committed to transforming the country’s unjust social, environmental, and economic systems from the ground up to address the climate crisis, advance racial justice, and build an economy that puts people first. Learn more at www.greenpeace.org/usa.
