Raising the Bar: Is Deep Sea Mining Going to Save Us From the Climate Crisis?

Pascale presented some of the research findings to a broad audience on 16 September, contributing to the event “Raising the Bar”, which is about bringing knowledge beyond the confined of the classrooms and lecture theatres.

Pascale’s talk was on: The world’s very first deep-sea mining (DSM) venture is looming, with corporate interests vowing to start mining the Pacific’s sea floor by the end of the year. This would mark the first time in the history of humanity that the deep-sea floor is disturbed at a large scale. These DSM corporations, alongside several pro-DMS governments, argue that we must mine the sea because it’s extraordinarily rich in the minerals needed for the ‘green’ transition away from fossil fuel-reliant technologies. DSM remains controversial, with many Pacific communities calling for a ten-year moratorium due to limited understanding of fragile deep-sea ecosystems. This talk will explore the current debates around DSM in the Pacific.