As recent studies and assessments indicate, the world is still able to change course in the face of this threat, if major pressures—including climate change—are mitigated and marine ecosystems restored. But a new risk is looming on the horizon: commercial deep-seabed mining for in-demand minerals. The industry’s prevailing narrative today is that the world needs deep-sea minerals—including rare-earth elements, cobalt, manganese, and tellurium—to enable the renewable-energy transition and decarbonize the global economy. But recent economic analyses suggest that existing land-based mining and a transition toward a circular economy can fill possible gaps in mineral supply, and even indicate that surplus mineral production, such as from the deep sea, may cause prices to collapse. So, who will gain from mining the seafloor?

Christiansen, S., & Unger, S. (2020, December 26). Save planet Earth but destroy the ocean?. Philippine Daily Inquirer, p. A7.