REFLECTORIAL: Red alert: Greenpeace fights against Canadian-based company engaged in deep sea mining
Bella Coco, News Editor
Greenpeace has called for action against Canadian-based The Metals Company (TMC) to stop deep-sea mining in international waters under U.S. jurisdiction. Code red for seabed started as an online petition when TMC partnered with U.S. President Donald Trump to fast- track extraction of oceanic materials and minerals.
But how did we get here?
TMC in the slow lane
In September 2021, TMC officially entered the world of stock exchange and public controversy. The Vancouver-based company began making promises on an eco-friendly future by providing electric vehicles and solar-powered batteries through sustainable seafloor mining.
Not long after TMC’s debut, the public began to lift the green veil, and stock began to drop. Scrutinizing and criticism became the norm TMC had to live with until MAGA’s poster boy, Donald Trump, won the U.S. presidential election in 2024.
Shortly after taking office, Trump released an executive order to advance deep-sea mining in both U.S. and international waters, and TMC was back in the game. From water boy to quarterback, TMC’s CEO, Gerard Barron, spoke less of the mutualistic relationship between the environment and mining for seabed resources and more of the economic glamour associated with the industry.
Conserve, baby, conserve
The World Resources Institute recently released a report on the known and unknown factors of deep-sea mining. The International Seabed Authority (ISA) has yet to set regulations on mining in international waters, which has opened a perfectly mineable loophole for TMC. Nations are set to mine in their own waters at their domestic discretion.
Deep-sea mining impacts the largest habitable area on Earth and has an extremely high chance of directly killing marine life through mining equipment and adjacent sediment plumes caused by the machinery.
Deep sea mining effects underwater ecosystems, climate and the food chain. Photo courtesy of The Quantum Record
There is also the constant risk of disrupting ecosystems, food insecurity through fishing, and deregulating climate impact. With all that being said, deep-sea mining is also far away from meeting U.N. sustainable development goals and having a positive symbiotic relationship with the environment.
Since TMC’s decision to loot the ocean floor with U.S. government support, Greenpeace has called upon the Canadian government to speak up and take a stand for the world’s oceans.
Prime Minister Mark Carney and Foreign Minister Anita Anad have yet to comment or make a statement on the issue, despite the 27,277 signatures on Greenpeace’s petition. The calls to action from Greenpeace include:
- Reinforce Canada’s support for a global prohibition on deep-sea mining.
- Oppose a rushed Mining Code that would legalize seabed exploitation.
- Stand up to Trump and TMC’s corporate greed.
In such a divided political and environmental climate, it is crucial that measures to protect our planet are taken seriously by elected officials and large corporations. Those interested in following the fight against TMC can visit Mongabay for more information.
