Follow along with the latest developments from the ISA Council here.
The ISA Council will meet in Kingston, Jamaica, from March 17-28, 2025, under the leadership of newly appointed Secretary-General Ms. Leticia Carvalho. This meeting presents a crucial opportunity for the ISA and its member states to unite and demonstrate responsible global leadership by adopting a moratorium on deep-sea mining. You can follow along the developments from the ISA Council here.
The Council meeting is set against the context of a deep-sea mining company announcing its intention to apply to start mining in June 2025, and pro-mining States rushing to adopt regulations. Decades away from fully understanding the irreversible damage mining will cause, approving a Mining Code would legally entrench large-scale mining for decades with no recourse to stop it.
Our planet is already in jeopardy, facing a triple crisis: biodiversity loss, climate change, and pollution. As Earth’s largest carbon sink, the deep sea stands between us and the worst impacts of environmental degradation. But if deep-sea mining were to move forward, evidence indicates it would not only cause irreversible biodiversity loss, but also disrupt the deep sea’s ability to store and sequester carbon—an essential function in regulating the climate at a time when global temperatures are reaching record highs.
Global opposition against deep-sea mining continues to strengthen as concerns about its irreversible consequences gain recognition. Governments (32), businesses, scientists, fishers, and Indigenous groups are calling for a moratorium on deep-sea mining. People across the globe are saying no to deep-sea mining.
With massive gaps in scientific knowledge and currently insurmountable regulatory flaws, the International Seabed Authority (ISA) has a fundamental responsibility to uphold the precautionary principle by imposing a moratorium on deep-sea mining until the full extent of the consequences of this risky industry are fully understood.
The DSCC and its members will be on the ground for the full ISA Council meeting, providing updates, analysis and transparency to the negotiations, urging governments to draw a line in the sand and support a deep-sea mining moratorium before it’s too late.
Follow along with the latest developments from the ISA Council here.