Over 40 Governments Urge Deep-Sea Mining Moratorium Ahead of ISA Session in Kingston

Ahead of Part II of the International Seabed Authority's 31st annual session, convening at the Jamaica Conference Centre in Kingston from July 13–31, 2026, the Center for Biological Diversity and allied groups renewed calls for delegates to maintain and expand a precautionary moratorium on commercial deep-sea mining. More than 40 governments — including Mexico, Brazil, and the United Kingdom — have now formally taken positions against mining in international waters pending further environmental study, alongside hundreds of scientists and dozens of companies and financial institutions that have signed moratorium appeals. The session is expected to continue long-delayed negotiations over the ISA's draft exploitation 'Mining Code,' which would govern commercial extraction of polymetallic nodules, cobalt-rich crusts, and seafloor massive sulphides, with particular focus on the Clarion-Clipperton Zone between Hawaii and Mexico, where the ISA has already issued 17 of its 31 exploration contracts. 'The ISA's purpose is to manage the seabed as the common heritage for all, and they shouldn't hand it over piecemeal to whichever company can move fastest,' said Alejandro Olivera of the Center for Biological Diversity, adding: 'I hope we get a deep-sea mining moratorium out of this meeting and can put an end to unilateral permitting.' The unilateral permitting reference reflects growing alarm over the United States — which is not a party to UNCLOS or the ISA — moving to bypass the multilateral process entirely by considering its own exploration and extraction permits under the domestic Deep Seabed Hard Mineral Resources Act. ISA Secretary-General Leticia Carvalho has said she remains confident the Authority can finalize a science-based regulatory system, but the widening gap between moratorium-minded states and mining-ready contractors leaves the Kingston session's outcome uncertain.