Thank you to everyone who has continued to contact me about deep sea mining.

I appreciate the important concerns you raise and agree with you on this vital issue. I believe we need a precautionary pause on this practice until and unless there is clear scientific evidence it can be done safely and the marine environment can be effectively protected by new regulation.

There is growing pressure for the mining of deep sea resources due to a significant increase in the minerals we will need over the next few decades. Yet we know mining in the deep sea will cause adverse impacts to the environment. An independent expert review commissioned by the Government and published in October 2022, for example, noted that deep sea ecosystems are considered to be particularly sensitive to disturbance, with recovery not evident over decades in test areas and with bigger commercial-scale impacts expected to last centuries.

I therefore back calls for the UK to join France, Germany, Switzerland, New Zealand, Spain, Chile, Ecuador, Vanuatu, Costa Rica and others, as well as businesses including BMW, Renault, Google, Samsung and Philips, in supporting a moratorium on deep sea mining.

I know that the Government has been asked a number of questions in the House of Commons on this issue in recent months. In response, it states that its policy is “not to sponsor or support the issuing of any exploitation licences for deep sea mining projects unless and until there is sufficient scientific evidence about the potential impact on deep sea ecosystems and strong enforceable environmental regulations, standards and guidelines have been developed by the ISA [International Seabed Authority] and are in place”. It further states that it is “fully engaged” in ongoing negotiations to agree deep sea mining exploitation regulations. I am concerned that this means it has rejected calls for a precautionary pause and I can therefore assure you that I will continue to support efforts to press it on this issue.

Thank you once again to all who have contacted me on this issue.