The ISA, an intergovernmental body tasked with protecting the seabed, and its member states have spent the last decade trying to hash outamining code for the possible exploitation of nickel, cobalt and copper in deep seabed areas that fall outside of national jurisdictions. But an agreement has so far been elusive.
In Friday’s decision, the ISA Council, which had been negotiating in Jamaica for the past two weeks, said it “intends to continue the elaboration” of regulations “with a view to their adoption at the 30th session of the Authority” in 2025. “This is an indicativetarget,” rather than a deadline, said council chairman Juan Jose Gonzalez Mijares.
Since July 9, after the expiration of a deadline triggered by the small Pacific state of Nauru in 2021, the ISA is obligated to considerlicenses for environmentally devastating mining operations if governments request them. Next week, the ISA Assembly and its 167 member states will discuss for the first time a “precautionary pause” in mining.