An unprecedented territory grab for extraction

Deep sea mining is a speculative industry. Everywhere it has tried to launch, it has failed. From Norway to New Zealand, efforts to exploit the seabed have crashed into a wall of opposition: legal challenges, parliamentary blocks, and fierce resistance from local communities, scientists, the fishing industry, and environmental groups. The world is not waiting for deep sea mining; it is actively mobilising against it.

As scientists increasingly warn of potentially irreversible ecological destruction to the planet’s last pristine wilderness, independent financial audits have exposed the industry’s underlying economic model as it underestimates its own financial and legal risks. A powerful coalition of over 43 governments, Indigenous activists, hundreds of scientists, and corporate giants, from the fishing industry to major automakers, has formed a global line of defence to keep the deep ocean off-limits to mining.

Major global banks such as BNP Paribas, Deutsche Bank and the Asian Development Bank have refused to finance these projects. Faced with international deadlock and financial stress, key players in an increasingly desperate industry have abandoned multilateral diplomacy. Instead, they have pivoted to a dangerous geopolitical gamble: teaming up with the Trump administration to unilaterally claim the global commons in blatant defiance of international law.

A unilateral power grab

Deep sea mining isn’t just an environmental disaster, it is a unilateral power grab disguised as a resource war, and a modern iteration of colonial history in the Pacific. For centuries, Western empires exploited Pacific nations; today, Global North corporations are attempting a new wave of “blue colonisation.” By treating the Pacific Ocean as an empty warehouse of commodities, tech ventures are undermining the sovereign rights, cultural heritage, and birthright guardianship of Indigenous Pacific peoples who have protected and been sustained by these waters for generations.

But the rush by global superpowers and corporations to seize deep sea minerals has become a critical catalyst for unity across the Pacific. While a few states (such as Nauru, Cook Islands, and Tonga) sponsor exploration contracts, a powerful regional front is forming to resist what local leaders and Indigenous advocates describe as a new wave of resource exploitation.

Key Priorities for the July 2026 ISA Session

The July International Seabed Authority (ISA) Council session represented a critical crossroads for the protection of our global commons. This gathering offered a pivotal opportunity for responsible governments to wrestle control of the timeline away from commercial actors, reject corporate bullying, and prioritise precaution for the common good. Fast- tracking the Mining Code is not a neutral administrative step; it is a monumental, irreversible trigger that opens the floodgates to commercial exploitation. The only way to finalise these regulations this year would be for governments to abandon their legal obligations to protect the marine environment and deny safeguarding global equity. Rushing this process would permanently erode multilateral norms and inadvertently validate lax, unilateral mining pathways.

Governments have the opportunity and tools to diffuse this threat and demonstrate global cooperation for the common good at the International Seabed Authority.

• Governments have the tools to create major barriers to unlawful mining efforts and defend this global commons. The legal obligations of 170+ governments to constrain any companies or nationals from participating in unlawful deep sea mining are clear. This provides the opportunity to shut off access to personnel, offshore engineering, ports, financing, processing, refining, and markets for unlawful mining. A recent legal opinion concludes that Allseas’ May 2026 contract to operate deep sea mining machinery for The Metals Company under unilateral U.S. authorisation triggered the obligation under international and Dutch law for the Dutch government to intervene against this corporate violation.123 Failing to do so would constitute a breach of its binding obligations under UNCLOS.
• Unless the ITLOS Seabed Disputes Chamber decides to order a suspension of the ISA’s inquiry into any contractors involved in unilateral mining, the ISA’s advisory commission and governments should conclude the ISA inquiry into whether any contractors are supporting unilateral efforts, and support punitive consequences for any companies breaching their obligations. It would be untenable for contractors to retain internationally legitimate rights to exploration while simultaneously participating in a violation of international law.
• This common ground across delegations is that the international community does not want mining to start right now, and is not ready to adopt a Mining Code that would open the gates to exploitation applications. Governments can join the 43-strong coalition calling for a moratorium, and show their support for the centrality of science-based decision-making at the Assembly by supporting a resolution tabled by Vanuatu.
• The ISA Council is due to establish a roadmap for the next phase of its work. Progressive governments must stand united to ensure this decision formalises strong pre-conditions before any mining can begin – including having enough scientific knowledge to make informed decisions. Adopting flawed, premature regulations will not stop unilateralism; it will only legitimise bad faith action. Rushing to adopt weak regulations means falling into a trap set by corporate actors who are trying to make a mockery of international law. Whereas agreeing a clear set of conditions for international approval of mining would help the ISA to shield itself from receiving commercial mining applications submitted under false expectations of the Mining Code being ready for adoption.

A line in the sand

As geopolitical tensions rise and the erosion of international norms by a few rogue actors breeds global instability, it is vital that governments act decisively to safeguard the collective interest. There is no better place to demonstrate the power of international cooperation than over the high seas, the waters that connect all continents. This collective strength is already proven, buoyed by the historic success story of the Global Ocean Treaty dedicated to protection, which triumphantly entered into force in January 2026.

The biggest threat to our oceans is not industrial fisheries or deep sea mining machines. It is the infection of doom and gloom that fools us into thinking we are powerless to stop things from getting worse.

But people power and international cooperation are showing their resilience. Despite intense corporate headwinds, the Global Ocean Treaty is now law, and deep sea mining has been successfully held back from the Arctic to the Pacific. We can win big together—even in the toughest of times.

As Greenpeace, we know we can win historic victories for the oceans. People before us in our movement had a harder time and they fought – and won. Putting Antarctica off-limits to mining and drilling during the Cold War.

Stopping deep sea mining through international agreement can signal a shift. It builds on the growing momentum that when Indigenous peoples are included and involved in decision-making, nature and the life-support system it provides for us all win. It’s a site battle where we can agree to limit private greed for the common good.

Governments who believe in the importance of international cooperation, the rule of law and science need to stand up and make progress where they can.

The threat of deep sea mining represents a new potential source of conflict over minerals, environmental degradation, and unilateral efforts to seize resources and territories in breach of international law. This is the last thing the world needs right now.

Published by Greenpeace International, July 2026