France votes to ban deep-sea mining in its waters: Why is this practice so controversial?

Tue, 14 Feb 2023 03:09:14 +1100

Andrew Pam <xanni [at] glasswings.com.au>

Andrew Pam
<https://www.euronews.com/green/2023/01/18/france-votes-to-ban-deep-sea-mining-in-its-waters-why-is-this-practice-so-controversial>

"The French Parliament has voted in favour of banning deep-sea mining in its
waters, in an emphatic move against the controversial practice.

The vote was won with an absolute majority yesterday (17 January) and the
National Assembly is now urging the government to adopt the moratorium.

Deep-sea mining would see heavy machinery being used on the ocean floor to suck
up small rocks containing rare metals. Though it’s still at an exploratory
stage, companies are very interested in the cobalt, nickel and manganese which
could be extracted for car batteries.

But scientists are concerned about the potentially devastating impact on marine
ecosystems. As well as the climate, given the vast amounts of CO2 stored at
these depths.

Nicholas Thierry, the Green MP who tabled the motion, welcomed the vote as a
“victory for the seabed and environmentalists” last night.

“What an accomplishment after several months of work with NGOs and MPs from
different political persuasions, to finally see our resolution against seabed
mining adopted in the Chamber!” he tweeted.

They can count on the President’s support. Emmanuel Macron has already made his
opposition to high-sea mining clear - most notably at COP27 where he called for
a new legal framework to stop extractive activities from going ahead."

Via Future Crunch:
<https://futurecrunch.com/goodnews-child-mortality-flamingos-mumbai-shamans-dream/>

Cheers,
       *** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net               Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/                 Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/            Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/               Manager, Serious Cybernetics

Comment via email

Home E-Mail Sponsors Index Search About Us