Deep-Sea Mining Ban Is No Cause for Celebration: David Fickling

Amid all the setbacks these days for environmental protection, the de-facto ban on deep-sea mining feels like a small, rare victory.

The International Seabed Authority, the United Nations agency that governs mineral extraction from the ocean floor, has spent much of the past month arguing over rules that might finally allow the harvesting of metal. To those who want to prevent such exploitation, the wrangling is the point: The ongoing failure to agree on regulations, 43 years after the ISA was established, ensures that no such mining will take place.

Those celebrating should curb their enthusiasm, though. The same circumstance protecting the deep seas from exploitation — the inability ...