Should we mine the deep sea?

Last week, after intense debate between member states, the UN's International Seabed Authority decided not to fast-track licences to start mining the deep ocean floor. But while waters have calmed for now, nothing is set in stone: talks renew in 2024.

Ahead of the conference, Alasdair spoke to Professor Mats Ingulstad, who is leading the TripleDeep research project at the Norweigan University of Science and Technology. They discussed the history of extraction in Norway & the development of discussions around deep sea mining, as well as the risks and rewards of this new frontier.

Audio editing by Vasko Kostovski.
 
Further reading: 

• 'Deep sea mining: Here’s which countries oppose and support the controversial practice', Euronews, 2/8/2023
• 'Experts agree – deep sea mining is not worth the risk', Land and Climate Review, 13/7/2023
• 'A historical perspective on deep-sea mining for manganese nodules, 1965–2019', Ole Sparenberg
• 'The Mining Industry: Expanding, Deepening, and Widening since the 1750s', Ingulstad et al., 2023
• 'Marine minerals' role in future holistic mineral resource management', Ingulstad et al., 2022

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