By: Wyatt Dayhoff
A centerpiece of President Biden’s policy has been to incentivize the push for implementing and improving access to renewable energy, both domestically and internationally. His effort has been admirable, especially in the face of a divided legislature. However, these efforts may be in vain if more of the materials necessary for clean energy cannot be found, placing the United States and potentially the world behind the renewable energy race.
In 2022, the White House estimated that demand for rare earth minerals, or REMs, is set to increase from 400 to 600 percent over the next several decades. While mineral recycling could be the future of REM production, the necessary technology will not be ready for at least a decade. Until then, we can expect continued Chinese dominance in the market and repeated human rights violations in the resource-rich nations where mining takes place. Aside from investing in domestic sources of production, what else can the United States do?
The answer could very well come from the depths of the Atlantic Ocean. Deep-sea mining, a practice in which machines move along the seafloor and extract football-sized nodules of crucial minerals like cobalt and lithium, has recently garnered significant attention for its potential to act as a sustainable alternative supply. Commercial mining has not yet been approved, as the International Seabed Authority (ISA) is still deciding on the terms for its regulatory code, which will be finalized come 2025.
However, there is one catch: the United States is not part of the ISA. The ISA falls under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), which the United States infamously has not signed onto. Instead, the United States has been relegated to an observer role, unable to vote on the code or propose any commercial projects of its own. Put simply, America has no skin in the game yet, but the United States can take on the initiative to be a leader and bring new regulations to the international table.
Deep-sea mining, aside from being a potential boon to the United States’ competitive advantage and commitment to renewable energy, is an industry that needs American leadership. The practice is not without its flaws: many ISA member states, nonprofits and scientists have come out against the practice due to its worrisome connotations for marine wildlife. Deep-sea ecosystems, whose value is still not fully known, are frequently devastated by the extraction machines. Aside from directly trampling organisms, mining machines suspend sediment in the water, smothering deep-sea species like anemones and sponges. Additionally, after the minerals are transported to the surface vessel, the vehicles must pump the excess sediment back into the ocean. This sediment is often released near 1,000 meters above the ocean floor and spreads over vast distances, suffocating midwater species that serve as the backbone of commercial fisheries. The region is so understudied that other damage may be present that we are not even aware of: an entire ecosystem hangs in the balance.
In the face of these pressing concerns, the ISA has been unable to come to a decision. When the small island nation of Nauru declared its intent to mine in 2021, the ISA vowed (under the rules in its UNCLOS charter) to produce a mining code by 2023. When the General Assembly convened this year, however, they delayed a verdict until 2025. Having only provided exploratory permits to this point, the ISA has control over the direction of this nascent industry but, without guidance, could easily fail to set the right terms, or any at all.
The Biden Administration can cement its status as a global sustainability leader and bolster its credibility by filling in the leadership vacuum. While ratification of UNCLOS would take ⅔, or a super majority of the Senate to pass, the economic and geopolitical opportunities of diversifying our REM supply ought to be highly supported by both sides of the aisle. Once a signatory, America can take charge and propose common-sense regulations to the industry, including waste-disposal requirements and imposition of additional environmental havens, or APEIs. These sorts of regulations, while cumbersome for miners, fall in line with Biden’s policy priorities and strike a firm balance between economy and ecology.
Even if the ISA fails to come to an agreement in 2025, this industry will not still nascent forever. Mining will start, whether the United States is involved or not. With enormous environmental and geopolitical ramifications, it is incumbent upon America to be a player in the decision-making process behind the future of deep-sea mining. President Biden, the ball is in your court.
