The study, by Fauna and Flora International (FFI), warns proposed plans to mine the seabed could cause significant loss of biodiversity, disruption of the ocean’s functions, and the loss of microbes important for storing carbon. Oceans are responsible for producing more than two thirds of oxygen in the atmosphere. They also play a central role in regulating the Earth’s climate and in mitigating climate change by serving as a major heat and carbon sinks. The process, requiring machines operating thousands of meters under the sea, could also create plumes of sediment that smother areas far from the mining sites and kill wildlife.

The International Seabed Authority, governments and those attempting to progress seabed mining should ensure that the mining does not progress until recommendations from  recent Deep Sea Risk and Impact Assessment Report have been fulfilled and exploitation technologies and operational practices are able to demonstrate no harm to the environment and outcomes of no net loss of biodiversity.