{"id":71493,"date":"2025-07-23T16:26:12","date_gmt":"2025-07-23T20:26:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/canada\/?p=71493"},"modified":"2025-07-23T18:40:00","modified_gmt":"2025-07-23T22:40:00","slug":"deep-sea-mining-isnt-innovation-its-ecological-theft","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/canada\/en\/story\/71493\/deep-sea-mining-isnt-innovation-its-ecological-theft\/","title":{"rendered":"Deep-sea mining isn\u2019t innovation: it\u2019s ecological theft"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Greenpeace International activists peacefully confronted UK Royal Research Ship James Cook in the East Pacific waters as it returned from a seven-week long expedition to a section of the Pacific Ocean targeted for deep sea mining. An activist scaled the side of the moving vessel to unfurl a banner reading \u201cSay No to Deep Sea Mining\u201d, while two M\u0101ori Indigenous activists swam in front of the RRS James Cook, one holding the M\u0101ori flag and the other a flag reading \u201cDon\u2019t Mine the Moana\u201d<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

Right now, countries are gathering at the International Seabed Authority (ISA) in Jamaica to debate whether companies should be allowed to mine the deep ocean for profit<\/strong>. The frontliner? Canada-based The Metals Company, led by profit-hungry CEO, Gerard Barron, who is willing to bypass international law and collaborate with Trump to tear up the ocean floor and turn it into his personal golf range<\/a>. But this past week, the ISA sent Barron and TMC a clear signal<\/a>: ignore the rules, and you will face consequences. <\/strong>After months of silence, and despite being home to The Metals Company, Canada must step up to protect the world\u2019s oceans and push for a global moratorium on deep-sea mining.<\/strong>
<\/p>\n\n

A corporate rush into the unknown<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n

Picture this: truck-size robots crawling across the deep-sea floor to remove mineral-rich materials, tearing up fragile marine ecosystems in the process. This isn\u2019t science fiction, it\u2019s the dream<\/a> of TMC\u2019s Gerard Barron \u2013 think Elon Musk, if Musk thought the Mariana Trench was a startup opportunity\u2026 He\u2019s on a mission to remove<\/a> polymetallic nodules off the seabed, and wrongfully insists<\/a> wrecking the ocean floor is essential for the clean energy transition. But scientists, Pacific nations, Indigenous leaders, and environmental groups around the world disagree. We don\u2019t need<\/a> deep-sea minerals for the energy transition, and we certainly don\u2019t need another tech-bro CEO like Gerard Barron, to continue a legacy of exploitation and disregard for frontline communities. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n

The deep sea, which makes up 90% of the ocean, is the beating heart of the marine ecosystem. <\/strong>It\u2019s one of the planet\u2019s last untouched frontier, a diverse and immense<\/a> biome home to otherworldly species we\u2019re only beginning to discover, and acts as the largest<\/a> carbon sink on Earth. Scientists warn<\/a> that mining this fragile, undiscovered<\/a> world would cause irreversible damage. <\/strong>Deep-sea mining would provoke habitat loss and could deeply impact<\/a> whales and other marine mammals\u2019 capacity to communicate underwater due to the risk of mining-generated noise. And the impacts on communities won\u2019t be shared equally<\/strong>. Pacific island nations, coastal communities and Indigenous Peoples, whose cultures, economies, and food systems rely on a healthy ocean will face its most severe impacts if deep sea mining is permitted to start. <\/p>\n\n

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In the lead-up to the 30th session meetings of the International Seabed Authority (ISA), Greenpeace Canada, with the help of like-minded artists, volunteers, activists and advocates for the ocean, painted a ground mural in front of The Metals Company (TMC) headquarters in downtown Vancouver to publicly expose them as accomplices of Trump who are making moves to fast-track deep-sea mining and cause irreparable harm to ocean life. So far, as host country to The Metals Company, the Canadian federal government has not taken the opportunity to stand up to the Trump-backed The Metals Company and corporate greed that want to exploit the seabed floor for profit. However, as the ISA meetings are underway, Greenpeace Canada and its Vancouver supporters have come together to remind the federal government that the ocean is not for sale; life on Earth, including ours, depends on these commitments being upheld.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

The tide is shifting<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n

In early July, Greenpeace Canada joined Coast Salish artists and activists to paint a bold mural in front of the headquarters of The Metals Company (TMC) in Vancouver. We painted a giant and colourful reminder that the ocean is a sacred space for humanity, not a sacrifice zone for corporate profit. <\/p>\n\n

In response, TMC\u2019s CEO, Gerard Barron, called Greenpeace activists  \u201ceco-terrorists\u201d<\/a>. Ridiculous? Yes. Telling? Absolutely. But what’s the real danger here? The peaceful Indigenous artists, the Greenpeace activists, allies, and kids painting to raise awareness about the dangers of deep-sea mining, or the CEO wanting to mine the ocean at all cost?<\/p>\n\n

By teaming up with Trump to fast-track deep-sea mining<\/a> in the Pacific Ocean, Barron\u2019s TMC wanted to make a mockery of international law. But this past week, the ISA Council, which Canada is a part of, called them out. Governments responded to TMC\u2019s reckless behaviour by launching a formal investigation<\/a> into whether its subsidiaries (NORI and TOML) are violating their legal contracts. That means their licenses may not get renewed, and any other profit-hungry CEO like Barron is now warned: you cannot bypass international law just because things don\u2019t go your way. Any other companies eyeing the ocean floor now knows: if you break the rules, the world will push back.<\/p>\n\n

What happens at the ISA does not stay at the ISA<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n

Right now, the ISA Assembly is gathering for the last week of negotiations. Despite heavy pressure from industry to finish regulations and deliver a Mining Code\u2013a rulebook that could greenlight the industrial exploitation of vast areas of the ocean floor\u2013it\u2019s now time for Canada to break its dangerous silence and stand up to Trump and The Metals Company\u2019s corporate greed. As a member of the ISA Council and home of The Metals Company headquarters, Canada must publicly reaffirm its commitment to a global moratorium on deep-sea mining. Canada must also support and uplift local and Indigenous voices in the decision-making rooms at the ISA to ensure the realities of coastal communities aren\u2019t drowned out by tech-bro wannabes who will stop at nothing to sacrifice nature for profit. <\/p>\n\n

The deep ocean isn\u2019t a playground for greedy bullies to profit from. It is humanity\u2019s shared heritage. The choice is clear: we need Canada to help safeguard the ocean, not let corporate interests carve up one of the planet\u2019s last untouched frontiers for short-term profit. <\/p>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n \t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\tThe ocean is not for sale: stop the deep sea mining code\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Add your name to demand that Canada lock the seabed out of reach for extractive industries.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t \n Take action\n <\/a>\n \t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/section>\n\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Right now, countries are gathering at the International Seabed Authority (ISA) in Jamaica to debate whether companies should be allowed to mine the deep ocean for profit. The frontliner? Canada-based…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":117,"featured_media":71330,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ep_exclude_from_search":false,"p4_og_title":"Deep-sea mining isn\u2019t innovation: it\u2019s ecological theft","p4_og_description":"Right now, countries are gathering at the International Seabed Authority (ISA) in Jamaica to debate whether companies should be allowed to mine the deep ocean for profit. The frontliner? Canada-based The Metals Company, led by profit-hungry CEO, Gerard Barron, who is willing to bypass international law and collaborate with Trump to tear up the ocean floor and turn it into his personal golf range. But this past week, the ISA sent Barron and TMC a clear signal: ignore the rules, and you will face consequences. After months of silence, and despite being home to The Metals Company, Canada must step up to protect the world\u2019s oceans and push for a global moratorium on deep-sea mining.\n\ufeff","p4_og_image":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-canada-stateless\/2025\/07\/259b07e8-gp0su647n_medium-res-1200px.jpg","p4_og_image_id":"71330","p4_seo_canonical_url":"","p4_campaign_name":"Oceans Are Life","p4_local_project":"","p4_basket_name":"Oceans","p4_department":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3,168],"tags":[156,31],"p4-page-type":[16],"class_list":["post-71493","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nature","category-oceans","tag-biodiversity","tag-oceans","p4-page-type-story"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/canada\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71493","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/canada\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/canada\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/canada\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/117"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/canada\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=71493"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/canada\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71493\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":71565,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/canada\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71493\/revisions\/71565"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/canada\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/71330"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/canada\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=71493"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/canada\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=71493"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/canada\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=71493"},{"taxonomy":"p4-page-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/canada\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/p4-page-type?post=71493"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}