A Canadian company announced Tuesday that its American subsidiary had submitted requests to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to exploit the seabed, aroused indignation by bypassing a United Nations agency that regulates deep international waters.
The metal company, based in Vancouver, said that it was looking for two exploration licenses and a commercial recovery permit, marking the first time that a company applies to commercially exploit the seabed.
The file should trigger a complex legal battle since Jamaica International according to Authority, a United Nations agency that regulates international waters of the deep sea, has the power to authorize operating permits.
“Any commercial exploitation outside the national court carried out without the authorization of the ISA would constitute a violation of international law,” said authority at the end of March after
The metal company has announced its intention to request authorization from the US government to start operating on the high seas in international waters.
There is currently no regulations in place to supervise such a mine that scientists warn that the extraction of minerals from vital ecosystems that help regulate climate change could cause permanent damage.
The deposit follows the Trump directive
The file comes less than a week after US President Donald Trump has published an executive decree which orders the Secretary to the Trade to eliminate, among other things, the examination and issuance of exploration and commercial recovery permits.
“With these applications, we offer the United States a ready for the shovel to new and abundant supplies of nickel, copper, cobalt and manganese – critical metals for energy, infrastructure and defense,” said Gerard Barron, president and chief executive officer of the Metal Company, in a press release.
Environmentalists and activists have decried this decision, saying that Isa has the sole power to authorize operating permits.
“This unilateral American effort to carve out of the Pacific Ocean is already faced with fierce international opposition,” said Ruth Ramos, an international senior militant from Greenpeace. “Governments around the world must now intensify international rules and cooperation against the exploitation of the deep rowdy routes.”
Get daily national news
Get the best news of the day, the titles of political, economic and current affairs, delivered in your reception box once a day.
For years, the members of the Council of the Authority have debated in the way and the authorization of the operation on the high seas. So far, the authority has only issued exploration licenses, most of the current exploratory activity concentrated in the Clarion-Clipperton fracture area, which covers 1.7 million square miles (4.5 million square kilometers) between Hawaii and Mexico. At least 17 of the 31 licenses were issued for this area, exploration occurring to depths ranging from 13,000 to 19,000 feet (4,000 to 6,000 meters).
United Nations Convention ratified by dozens of countries but not in the United States
The International Marine Fund authority was created in 1994 by the United Nations Convention on the Act of the Sea, which was ratified by more than 165 nations – but not in the United States.
Metals argued that the American seabed code would allow it to start operations in international waters, because it is not a member of authority and therefore not bound by its rules.
“After a continuous delay at the international level, the United States now has a clear opportunity to recover its role of leadership in the deep sea and to set a global standard for responsible development of in-depth resources based on science,” said Barron.
The American mining code is not a guarantee of an extraction permit
But Emily Jeffers, main lawyer of the non-profit center based in the United States for biological diversity, said that it was not a lost conclusion that the company will be authorized to exploit under the US Mining Code of the Seabed, which requires a complete environmental analysis.
“This law has been in books for 45 years, and there is a reason why no other company used it to extract minerals from the seabed,” she said in a telephone interview. “Science is clear that companies cannot meet the standard requested by law. There is no way to operate on the high seas without having a significant and catastrophic effect on the environment. ”
Jeffers said that if the Trump administration approves the permit, it would be faced with legal challenges of environmental organizations.
“Not an experience we should carry out”
At the end of March, the company based in Vancouver announced that it would ask the United States permission to start deep exploitation in international waters to extract minerals used in electric cars and other green technologies.
The announcement was made a few hours before the ISA Council met on the last day of a two -week conference focused on how and the opportunity to allow such an exploitation. Scientists have said that a precipitation to collect minerals that take millions of years to form could trigger noise, light and the establishment of dust storms deeply in the oceans of the earth.
“The exploitation of the deep magnitude has the potential to have an impact not only on the environment of the seabed, but on all of life between the two,” said Jeff Watters, vice-president of Ocean Conservancy external affairs, a non-profit based in the United States. “There are so many mysteries about this part of the ocean where we have just scratched the surface.”
He said that the exploitation of the deep sea is “not an experience that we should carry out”.
Watters said in a telephone interview that the area that the metal company was trying to explore is larger than the size of the southern Dakota and the larger extraction zone than the size of the Vermont.
“The size and the ladder are simply huge,” he said.
Companies say that the exploitation of maritime is cheaper, safer than land
The mining companies have declared that the harvest of minerals of the seabed rather than land is cheaper and less environmental impact.
A spokesperson for the authority refused to comment and refer to the statements she made earlier this year.
The Authority said that it had the sole legal mandate to regulate mineral -related activities in international foundations. He noted that the international legal regime established by the United Nations Convention on the Act of the Sea applies to all states, whether or not.
“Any effort undertaken outside the recognized and consensual international framework, or in order to bypass international law, can incur legal, diplomatic, economic, security, financial and reputation risks,” said the authority.
