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Greenpeace has launched a lawsuit against the UK government for non-disclosure of information by ministers on the first high seas mining exploration licenses to be made public.
Lawyers acting on behalf of the environmental campaign group first wrote to ministers in March, warning that exploration licenses were flawed and possibly illegal and calling for urgent clarification.
Under the Environmental Information Regulations of 2004, ministries must provide requested information as soon as possible and no later than 20 working days after receipt or, in certain circumstances, up to 40 days. However, Greenpeace was not informed of any extension and the deadline for a response was passed on May 19.
Louisa Casson, of the Greenpeaces Protect the Oceans campaign, said: First these licenses were withheld from public scrutiny for a decade, and now they have finally been revealed, our government refuses to even respond to requests for most basic information about them.
It is vital that this dangerous new industry, which threatens to cause irreversible damage to our oceans, be scrutinized, but that is not possible if our government refuses to be transparent. This begs the question: what do they have to hide?
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Last month, detailed analyzes by the Blue Marine Foundation and Greenpeace UK suggested that the high seas mining exploration licenses granted by the British government to the subsidiary of the arms giant Lockheed Martins, UK Seabed Resources LTD ( UKSRL), could be illegal.
Lawyers for Greenpeace UK have warned the UK government that:
Licenses were granted for 15 years from the date of signing of the International Seabed Authority (ISA) contract, while UK law only allows licensing for an initial period of up to 10 years, which suggests that they could be illegal.
The licenses are based on the 1981 legislation, which is no longer relevant as the relevant UK law was revised in 2014 and does not take into account the UK’s accession to the United Nations Convention on the Law of sea (UNCLOS), or the creation of the United Nations regulator, the ISA.
The licenses state that the UK will sponsor UKSRL in its seabed exploitation if it meets the conditions of its exploration licenses, contradicting the position declared by the UK government in March 2020 that it has not agreed to sponsor or to support no operating license for deep sea mining projects until there is sufficient evidence.
The exploration areas detailed in the licenses are more than twice as large as the area in which UKSRL is authorized by the ISA to operate.
There is also a lack of clear provisions for environmental impact assessments (EIAs), although the UK is obliged to ensure that its contractor performs EIAs.
Lawyers for Greenpeace UK asked for more information on when the licenses came into force, the period for which they were granted, the legal authority under which they were granted and copies of all assessments of environmental impact companies before their granting. They also requested copies of all incident reports resulting from authorized activities that have caused or are causing or threaten environmental damage.
None of this information was disclosed and no reason for the delay was given. Greenpeace has asked the Information Commissioner to order the government to comply with the Environmental Information Regulations 2004 and to fully disclose the requested information as soon as possible.
A UK government spokesperson said the UK plays a crucial role in ensuring that strict environmental standards are met in the expanding mining industry on the high seas.
We have agreed not to sponsor or support the issuance of operating licenses for deepwater mining projects until there is sufficient scientific evidence on the potential impact on water ecosystems. deep, and that strong and enforceable environmental standards have been developed and implemented by the International Seabed Authority.
Deep-sea mining has so far been limited to exploration, although mining is expected in the very near future.
Due to the depletion of the earth’s levels of metals such as copper, lithium and nickel, it is hoped instead to recover them in the ocean, at depths of more than 200 meters. The demand for these metals has grown exponentially in recent times due to their use in smartphones and so-called green technologies.
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