Lecture & Screening: Unearthing the “Blue Frontier”: The International Seabed Authority’s New Mining Code and the Costs of Deep-Sea Mining

Over the past decade, deep-sea minerals like polymetallic nodules containing copper and cobalt have gained attention as a potential resource for green energy technologies such as batteries, computers, and electric cars. Found mainly on the international seabed, these nodules are regulated by the International Seabed Authority (ISA), which will finalize a mining code in 2025 that determines future deep-sea exploration and exploitation. Following Singapore’s Deep-Sea Mining Act of 2015, Ocean Mineral Singapore, a subsidiary of Keppel Offshore and Marine conducted two deep-sea expeditions to the Pacific Ocean. While some argue this extraction is crucial for the green transition, Pacific nations warn of its harmful impact on marine biodiversity and climate change.

This lecture will explore the environmental and societal implications of deep-sea mining, starting with a screening of the film Blue Peril, 2022 (INTERPRT / Professor Nabil Ahmed, Deep Sea Mining Campaign & Ozeanian Dialog), a science-based visual investigation using architectural and spatial analysis to model the potentially irreversible effects of deep-sea mining in the Pacific Ocean. Paired with testimonies from Pacific Island communities, this film addresses the impacts on their economies and ways of life. Afterward, Tara Maria Davenport (Assistant Professor, Faculty of Law, National University of Singapore and Deputy Director, Asia-Pacific Centre for Environmental Law) and Jonathan Galka(PhD Candidate, History of Science Department, Harvard University) will discuss the historic mining code and its future impact on resource extraction, drawing from legal, historical, and community perspectives.

Tuesday Lecture
10 December 2024, 6:30pm – 8:00pm
The Hall, NTU CCA Singapore
Blk 6 Lock Road, #01-09
Gillman Barracks, Singapore 108934