Luxembourg joins list of countries calling for deep sea mining pause at International Seabed Authority

The Luxembourg Minister of Environment, Serge Wilmes,
has affirmed his county's support for a moratorium on deep sea mining.

Luxembourg joins a list of over 30 countries now calling for a pause on the development of mining regulations or for it to be abandoned altogether.

Mssr. Wilmes gave the assurance in the Luxembourg legislature yesterday in response to a written question from an elected member, Paul Galles.

Mssr. Galles called attention to the current push by the United States and The Metals Company to forge ahead with deep sea mining and queried the government minister on the Luxembourg government's official position.

Translated from his native French, Mssr. Galles wrote:

• Is the government willing to join the 32 countries calling for a moratorium on seabed mining? What would speak against this step?

• How does the government intend to deal with the situation that international environmental agreements could be undermined in the future?

The coalition of 32 countries has been galvanised by high profile campaign group, Deep Sea Conservation Coalition,DSCC, which comprises NGOs, governments, and scientists.

DSCC's primary focus is to protect vulnerable marine ecosystems and it is staunchly against deep sea mining.

In response to his colleague, The Luxembourg Minister of Environment, Climate and Biodiversity replied that:

For Luxembourg, the “precautionary principle” is an essential element that guides our positions and decisions in the context of the environment. In the specific case of seabed mining, Luxembourg therefore continues to be in favour of a moratorium until it can be clearly demonstrated that such activities do not have significant negative impacts on the environment.

On the question of how the government intended to deal with the situation that "international environmental agreements could be undermined in the future", the ministry replied that

Environmental agreements have been undermined by one side or the other for some time. The current trend is therefore not new, even if its virulence seems more extreme in the current geopolitical situation.

He said Luxembourg will "continue to work with its partners in multilateralism to uphold the agreements that guarantee a healthier world."

For its part, DSCC welcomed the news in a post to X today:

Following Donald Trump's executive order, DSCC had made an urgent call for more countries to join the resistance against deep sea mining at the ISA.