Members of the International Seabed Authority have elected a new secretary general, Leticia Carvalho of Brazil, during their recent session in Kingston, Jamaica. Carvalho received 79 votes, surpassing the incumbent Michael Lodge who received 34 votes. The session concluded without reaching a consensus on a regulatory framework for deep-sea mining.
Currently, there is a growing call for a preliminary halt to deep-sea mining, with 32 states, including Tuvalu, Guatemala, Honduras, and France, supporting the initiative. This comes amidst concerns that the authority may receive an application for the first deep-sea mining exploitation license later this year, while lacking established rules and regulations.
