Deep-sea mining vital to climate action, deadly to oceans

Deutsche Welle :
In the mid-nineteenth century, science fiction author Jules Verne wrote of precious metals lying thousands of meters underwater.  
“In the depths of the ocean, there are mines of zinc, iron, silver and gold that would be quite easy to exploit,” stated Captain Nemo in Verne’s classic adventure tale, “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.”
The author was right about the potential raw materials. He was wrong, however, to assume that the minerals could be easily exploited.
Currently there is no internationally agreed code for mining under the ocean. After two weeks of negotiations ending on March 31, the International Seabed Authority (ISA) decided that companies can apply from July to mine the ocean floor. But campaigners and even corporations are pushing back due to fears of massive environmental impacts.
“The deep sea is a trove of biodiversity, rich in living resources used in medicines and critical in regulating the climate and providing spawning and feeding grounds for fish,” said Diva Amon, a biologist and an advisor to the Benioff Ocean Initiative at the University of California. “The planet would not be the same without it.”