“I want to be very clear here, faithful to what I have already said: France supports the prohibition of any exploitation of the deep seabed. I assume this position and will take it to international forums”said Emmanuel Macron, Monday, November 7, in his speech delivered on the occasion of the opening of the 27e COP for the climate, in Egypt.
This statement made before the Heads of State and Government gathered in Sharm El-Sheikh is unambiguous. Paris is not content to join countries such as Chile, Costa Rica, New Zealand, Panama, Germany, Spain and several Pacific island states in favor of a precautionary moratorium on ocean floors while waiting to acquire scientific knowledge on these still largely ignored ecosystems.
It is a question of thwarting the desires of certain mining companies for the polymetallic, cobalt or rare earth nodules scattered on the ocean floor. However, France will not be able to put an end to the race to the abyss alone. “As space has been, the oceans must be a new frontier for cooperation and multilateralism. We must do everything to preserve them in terms of climate as well as their biodiversity”assured the President of the Republic.
“Unique ecosystems”
If the declining state of health of the marine world now invites itself into major international meetings on the climate, it is because it plays an essential regulatory role there, in particular by absorbing a large part of the excessive heat due to human activities. .
Emmanuel Macron’s commitment comes amid an International Seabed Authority (ISAF) negotiating session being held in Kingston, Jamaica until November 11. France’s position was eagerly awaited. On the one hand because it sits among the 37 members of the Council of this body under the aegis of the United Nations Organization. On the other hand because since the UN ocean conference in Lisbon at the beginning of July, during which the President of the Republic had certainly already advocated caution, all doubts had not been swept away. Official strategic notes in favor of exploitation had, for example, been drafted under the mandate of Prime Minister Jean Castex.
The environmental NGOs present at the AIFM were particularly concerned to hear a French diplomat mention a few days ago possible compensation for damage caused to the marine environment. “It does not make sense, these are unique, fragile ecosystems, habitats of endemic species, all destruction is irreversible at the bottom of the ocean”defends Emma Wilson, program manager at the Deep Sea Conservation Coalition.
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