The Irish Government has agreed to throw its weight behind calls for a "precautionary pause" of deep-sea mining on the international seabed.
Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs, Micheál Martin, Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Darragh O’Brien and Minister of State for Heritage and Electoral Reform, Malcolm Noonan, welcomed yesterday’s Cabinet decision.
They want no deep-sea mining to take place until a robust regulatory framework is in place to protect the marine environment.
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The Tánaiste said: "Ireland today joins a growing chorus of countries, scientists, civil society organisations and private companies calling for a precautionary pause of deep-sea mining. The international community has a responsibility to protect the marine environment, which is under greater pressure than ever."
The 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea established the International Seabed Authority (ISA) to regulate the exploration and exploitation of mineral resources of the international seabed, which falls outside any national jurisdiction.
To date the ISA has only authorised exploration activities but there have been recent efforts by some states and mining companies to accelerate moves towards an exploitation phase.
That’s despite the fact negotiations on a mining code, including environmental regulations, have yet to be concluded, and significant scientific knowledge gaps persist.
Minister O’Brien said: "The recently agreed Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, as well as the UN Agreement on Marine Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction, were major steps forward for international ocean governance. It is important that we focus on delivering the ambitious objectives of those frameworks, and build on the progress already made in protecting our marine environment."
Ireland has a marine area about seven times the size of our land mass.
The 490,000km2 comprises parts of Irish and Celtic Seas as well as the Atlantic Ocean, where we own parts of the Continental Shelf.
Minister of State Noonan added: "There remain major scientific knowledge gaps on deep-sea ecosystems and the potential impacts of deep-sea mining.
"The precautionary principle and the best available science must be at the heart of the governance of the international seabed."
