Europe: the struggle for ocean resources

Although officially the European Commission and the European Union oppose it, individual European countries are fighting for deep-sea mining, for the resources of the seabed.

The EC called for a moratorium on the extraction of minerals from the ocean floor, but not everyone supported its calls. The seabed hides in its depths, where light does not penetrate, billions of polymetallic nodules – stones 10-15 cm in size, containing nickel, copper, manganese, iron, cobalt, rare earth elements.

This raw material is indispensable in the production of solar cells, batteries for electric vehicles, semiconductors and is essential for the European economy. The scarcity of rare metals encourages EU look for new supply chains, although many countries refuse to mine the seabed.

Conservationists are extremely worried about this race for marine resources – untested technologies threaten unique ecosystems about which too little is known. Perhaps their survival depends on these nodules, because humanity knows much more about the depths of space than about the ocean.

Conservationists warn that the damage from such activities to marine ecosystems can be irreversible. At the same time, some world leaders agree with them, others think otherwise. That is why the EC and EP are calling for a worldwide moratorium on deep sea mining, to wait until scientific research closes all existing knowledge gaps:

“Our concerns are with the protection and restoration of the marine environment, deep sea biodiversity and climate change mitigation.”

The European Union has already invested more than 80 million euros in research projects related to the development of the seabed. The results obtained have become another evidence that there is no end to the work for scientists here. According to some estimates, many species of flora and fauna that live on the ocean floor are unknown to science. The European Commission says:

“Long-term studies are needed to assess the full range of mining impacts on benthic and deep-sea biodiversity, ecosystem health and recovery potential.”

The introduction of such a moratorium is supported by large industrial companies: Volvo, Google, BMW, Samsung have promised not to purchase minerals mined from the bottom of the ocean. But only 7 EU member states openly support the suspension of production: Portugal, Finland, France, Spain, Sweden, Germany, Ireland. The lack of consensus in the EU undermines efforts to introduce a moratorium, notes euronews.

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