AAAS: "As prospect of unregulated deep-sea mining looms, scientists sound the alarm." Negotiators missed a July deadline to complete regulations on mining, thus the International Seabed Authority (ISA) is raising the alarming prospect that mining operations targeting metals needed by the EV industry could commence without effective safeguards. The ISA regulates seabed mining beyond the limits of national jurisdictions. "The intergovernmental body, which was established under a 1994 agreement by the United Nations, spent years developing rules for commercial exploration and has issued 31 permits to mining companies and government agencies." Much of the recent discussion in Kimgston, Jamaica concerned a remote region of the eastern Pacific Ocean called the Clarion-Clipperton Zone (CCZ), which stretches from south of Hawaii to Mexico. "Four kilometers down, the sea floor in the region is dotted with trillions of polymetallic nodules that are estimated to contain more cobalt and nickel than all known land deposits." Companies such as Canadian-owned Nauru Ocean Resources hope to start mining in CCZ in late 2024. Such mining would involve 'sucking them into bus-size seafloor mining machines and pumping them to the surface.' The operation would also stir up sediment plumes, laced with metals, and generate noise and light that could spread harm far beyond the mining site. In May a paper found that thousands of species have yet to be identified in the CCZ. The photo shows polymetallic nodules, dotting the seabed under a carnivorous sponge capturing a crab. A modern-day gold rush with significant harms.   #deepseamining    #environmentalrisk    #electricvehicles

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“That’s not to say that ESG works perfectly. It’s often difficult to measure how companies perform on issues like climate, and scoring systems can miss spotting some risks.” https://www.fastcompany.com/90824901/secret-money-fueling-conservative-anti-esg-push?utm_source=newsletters&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=FastCompanyCompass-Dec%2019,%202022&leadId=599750&mkt_tok=NjEwLUxFRS04NzIAAAGIzvgfaPAC1nGBGoP3ekKF1eMHFbPchGT4e2BSi6IKPOuYtCh48xeejyDDiADrW6b0JKQnhg_IXG7uJh30RsTtmYGFGvT883-lx-ovkSU #ESG #riskmanagement #environmentalrisk #socialrisk #governancerisk #investmentrisk