French Polynesia’s Moetai Brotherson on New Caledonia, deep sea mining and regional ties

As French diplomats worked the corridors at last week’s 53rd Pacific Islands Forum in Nuku’alofa, President of French Polynesia Moetai Brotherson has criticised decisions taken by President Emmanuel Macron that have

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Tuvalu calls for deep sea mining precautionary pause at ISA conference in Jamaica

Tuvalu and other nations have joined the call for a precautionary pause on deep sea mining at the 29th International Seabed Authority (ISA) Assembly meeting in Kingston, Jamaica.  Guatemala and Honduras also backed a

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The future of deep sea mining hinges on a contentious election

The Pacific island nation of Kiribati is playing an outsize role in an election that will determine whether companies can begin strip-mining the world’s oceans for critical metals.  Bloomberg reports that Leticia

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Winston Peters says he wants more rational debate on deep sea mining, not ‘virtue signalling’

New Zealand’s Deputy Prime Minister, Winston Peters, says mining is critical to transition away from fossil fuels, but the call for a moratorium in international waters by the previous government still stands.

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Moratorium placed on deep sea mining in PNG: PM Marape

Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape says a moratorium has been placed on the Nautilus deep sea mining and will continue until scientific evidence proves otherwise. Marape said the Melanesian Spearhead

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Nations aim to ink deep sea mining rules by 2025

The International Seabed Authority’s member nations on Friday agreed on a two-year roadmap for the adoption of deep sea mining regulations, despite conservationists’ calls for a moratorium on mineral

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Considering the possible impacts of deep sea mining in the Cook Islands

In the recent Parliament opening, King’s Representative Sir Tom Masters spoke of the Cook Islands’ desire to develop a sustainable and environmentally responsible seabed minerals sector. This week, also in

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Why has a Canadian company partnered with Nauru to fast-track deep sea mining?

Brown-black discharge gushed out of a pipe from a hulking ship, dispersing murky clouds of sediment into the international waters of the Pacific Ocean. The scene, captured in a video that’s garnered international

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Pacific groups welcome call to ban deep sea mining

The Pacific Blue Line collective has welcomed the call by France for a ban on deep sea mining, a call that Pacific civil society groups and movements have been pushing for since 2012. French President Emmanuel Macron

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Deep Sea Mining pilot gets go ahead

Piloting of deep sea mining by the Metals Company has been given the green light by the International Seabed Authority (ISA). This follows the ISA’s review of an environmental impact statement (EIS) and environmental

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MPs seek regional dialogue on deep sea mining

A new alliance of parliamentarians from across the Pacific has called for a regional dialogue on the potential impacts of deep sea mining. The public launch of the Pacific Parliamentarians’ Alliance on Deep Sea Mining

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Nauru determined to back Deep Sea Mining

With the COVID-19 Pandemic maintaining its crippling grip on the Pacific, legislators have struggled to find alternative sources of income to buoy national economies. On the rocky outcrop of Nauru in the Central

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