The global debate around deep-sea mining is heating up, with mounting concern over the irreversible harm it could cause to ocean ecosystems and the ocean’s essential role in regulating the climate.

 

This policy brief shifts the spotlight from the usual framing of critical minerals for energy security to the increasingly aggressive push to justify deep-sea mining in the name of ‘national security’ and ‘defense’—particularly amid escalating geopolitical tensions driven by Western powers.