Trump Executive Order Fast-Tracks Deep-Sea Mining

WASHINGTON, D.C. — President Trump signed an executive order today that aims to accelerate deep-sea mining, ignoring international law, scientific warnings, and global calls for caution.

Following is a statement from Taryn Kiekow Heimer, director, ocean energy at NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council):  

“This executive order is an industry wishlist that will fast-track destructive industrial mining in U.S. waters and the high seas. It disregards international law and abandons the global cry for caution.

“More than 30 countries, major corporations, financial institutions, Indigenous groups, and nearly 1,000 marine experts are calling for a moratorium or pause on deep-sea mining. Until international deep-sea mining regulations are in place, environmental risks are fully understood, and alternatives are explored, the United States should not lead a race to the bottom.

“The deep sea is the earth’s least understood ecosystem, and we already know mining would cause widespread, irreversible harm, from destroying seafloor habitats to releasing toxic sediment plumes that travel hundreds of miles.

“This isn’t innovation. It’s reckless, unnecessary, and driven by short-term gain at the expense of long-term planetary health.” 

NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council) is an international nonprofit environmental organization with more than 3 million members and online activists. Established in 1970, NRDC uses science, policy, law and people power to confront the climate crisis, protect public health and safeguard nature. NRDC has offices in New York City, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Beijing and Delhi (an office of NRDC India Pvt. Ltd).