Deep-sea mining is now often hailed as a groundbreaking step for a “clean economy” but is increasingly being contested for potential catastrophic impacts on biodiversity and corporate sustainability. While many in the industry tout that it would be an “$8 trillion opportunity,” research and expert analysis are now showing a vastly different and alarming scenario, with the possible negative tail risks for both the environment and business profitability likely to swamp such gains.
The deep ocean, once believed to be a desert, has emerged as one of the most biodiverse ecosystems on Earth, second only to the diversity in the tropical rainforests. To date, the International Seabed Authority has issued actually 31 contracts and has under consideration 60% of those for polymetallic nodules, large deposits of the minerals, indispensable for clean and green energy. However, the collection of these nodules presents a threat to a singular and age-old ecosystem—a supposed 100 million species.
Some of those species include corals from 4,000 and sea sponges from 11,000 years ago, which through evolution in tens of centuries have come to thrive in the deep, extreme conditions. The physical process of nodule extraction destroys the habitat these species rely on, leading to irreversible biodiversity loss. As one researcher put it, “The physical extraction of a nodule kills the community of species that rely on it.” The ramifications are wet and highly impactful, possibly resulting in the extinction of species which are still unknown and could be explored.
Moreover, major environmental disturbances are created by the equipment used for deep sea mining. Effects of the noise produced by mining machinery alter communication events, navigation sounds, and feeding patterns of marine life up to 500 km from the site. Moreover, this light produced by the machines might cause disturbances to creatures that are adapted to the darkness of the deep sea, such as deep sea vent shrimps, adding again to another ecological impact.
Financial Risks and Corporate Sustainability
The economic risks emanating from deep sea mining are also at par with environmental threats. A study by Planet Tracker has projected the potential destruction from the extraction of polymetallic nodules alone to be in excess of half a trillion dollars. On the short-term horizon, while the capital goods sector, including mining equipment suppliers, may benefit, other sectors, notably fisheries and land-based mining, are set to take a beating from the new industry.
There are also significant risks for the investor. The report predicts that investors in deep sea mining will lose, on average, 2% per annum over the next two decades, before potential liabilities are taken into account as a result of environmental harm. This financial risk questions whether deep sea mining is a feasible and sufficient enduringly profitable enterprise.
Corporate sustainability goals are also at risk. As the Taskforce on Nature-Related Financial Disclosures has clarified, there is a high risk of “disruption to finance as a result of exclusions on deep sea mining.” Firms that have made commitments toward meeting climate and nature goals will find it counterproductive to yield to compelling deep seabed mining, as they will shift to do activities that raise their nature-related impacts and dependencies. Misalignment with these goals can have a potentially negative effect on corporate reputations and will hold back the long-term fostering of environmental stewardship.
Conclusion
The movement to resist deep seabed mining is beginning to intensify as corporate and institutional responses cause a suspension of the process. If there is one loud message sent across by environmentalists, scientists, and sustainability advocates, it is to avoid deep-sea mining at all costs to maintain environmental and financial sustainability.
In the enthusiasm to develop technological solutions to problems that are brought about by climate change, the potential impact on the globe’s most vulnerable ecosystems appears to shudder in the wings. In the still very hot controversy of deep sea mining, it becomes clear that preservation of biodiversity and the realization of corporate objectives for sustainability are more urgent than economic gain in the short term. The future of our planet’s deep oceans and the myriad of species that inhabit these water columns hang in the balance.