Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact on deep-sea ecosystems of the draft exploitation regulations under the International Seabed Authority Mining Code.

The UK is fully engaged in the ongoing negotiations at the International Seabed Authority (ISA) Council and Assembly, to agree deep sea mining exploitation regulations. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office leads the UK delegation to the ISA.

The UK’s policy is not to sponsor or support the issuing of any exploitation licences for deep sea mining projects unless and until there is sufficient scientific evidence about the potential impact on deep sea ecosystems, and strong enforceable environmental Regulations, Standards and Guidelines have been developed by the ISA and are in place. The UK’s approach is both precautionary and conditional.

The Government commissioned an independent review from the British Geological Survey, the National Oceanography Centre and Heriot-Watt University. The review was published in October 2022 and is available here:

https://www.bgs.ac.uk/news/deep-sea-mining-evidence-review-published/