New App Encourages EV Makers To Say No To Deep Sea Metals

Greenpeace has launched a new app designed to raise
awareness about the environmental threats posed by deep sea
mining.

Using an interactive interface, the web-app
encourages people to learn more about the emerging
extractive industry while also providing a way to urge EV
makers such as Tesla to commit to keeping deep sea metals
out of their supply chains.

Called ‘ Race to the Top’
the immersive web-app, which can be reached at www.racetothetop.app,
is part of a global effort by Greenpeace to halt deep sea
mining before it starts. It comes amidst growing concerns
that the emerging industry will cause extensive
environmental destruction to the seafloor and marine life,
threatening people’s way of life – especially in the
Pacific Ocean where mining operations would
start.

“The ocean is a crucial part of the natural
system that enables life to exist on planet Earth, and it
has already been pushed to the brink by overfishing,
pollution and climate change. We cannot now permit the
mining industry to put it under further stress by finding
new ways to exploit the seabed,” says Greenpeace Aotearoa
seabed mining campaigner James Hita.

“Many of our
Pacific neighbours are calling for a halt to deep sea
mining. Countries like Samoa, Palau, and Fiji have formed an
alliance calling for a moratorium, while numerous Pacific
politicians and civil society groups are backing the call.
The New Zealand government still
needs to stand in solidarity with our Pacific neighbours
and support a global ban on deep sea mining.”

“We have
a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to stop this industry
before it even starts. The ‘Race to the Top’ app is a
fun and interactive way to take a stand against the serious
threat of deep sea mining and protect the ocean that
connects and nourishes us. Plus it’s just really cool,
with graphics capturing the marvellous creatures that live
in the deep as well as the monstrous machines the industry
is developing right now to mine the deep.”

The mining
industry is targeting the electric vehicle market as a
potential market for deep sea minerals, but many car makers
including Volvo, BMW, Volkswagen, Renault and Scania, have
already signed an agreement committing to keeping deep sea
mined minerals and metals out of the supply
chain.

“Commitments by some EV manufacturers to keep
deep sea mined minerals and metals out of their supply chain
is a huge step in the right direction and shows that deep
sea mining is not necessary. Now we need to encourage others
to do the same”, says Hita.

Right now, the
International Seabed Authority is meeting in Jamaica to
negotiate rules that would govern deep sea mining. Numerous
countries and civil society groups including representatives
from Greenpeace are opposing this and calling for a halt to
the process.

Says Hita: “The New Zealand Government
needs to act now and announce their support for a halt to
deep sea mining. Time is short. If governments don’t
intervene, mining could start as early as next
year.”

Deep sea mining is a destructive and untested
industry where minerals are sucked up from the ocean floor,
and waste materials pumped back into the ocean leaving a
sediment plume that smothers marine life, threatening
vulnerable ecosystems, fisheries and people’s way of
life.

Scientists say that disruptions to the ocean
floor may also reduce the ocean’s ability to sequester
carbon, adding to the climate crisis.

Greenpeace
Aotearoa launched
a petition in June calling on the New Zealand government
and Minister of Foreign Affairs Nanaia Mahuta to support a
ban on deep sea mining in the Pacific and around the world
and already, over 10,000 people have
signed.

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