17-08-2023 · 市場觀點

Call for moratorium on deep sea mining

Robeco is supporting calls for a moratorium on deep sea mining, backed by engagement with the companies involved, until the full risks and opportunities are known.

    作者

  • Lucian Peppelenbos - 氣候策略師

    Lucian Peppelenbos

    氣候策略師

  • Sylvia  van Waveren - Engagement Specialist

    Sylvia van Waveren

    Engagement Specialist

It follows a collective letter by 36 financial institutions including Robeco sent to the International Seabed Authority (ISA) asking it to postpone granting permits to dredge the seabed for valuable minerals. The Global Financial Institutions Statement to Governments on Deep Seabed Mining says the practice has environmental, social and economic risks that are not yet fully understood.

Robeco holds shares in a handful of companies that may become indirectly involved in deep sea mining by providing services or finance to the pure-play (direct) miners, and proposes engagement with the two largest holdings. Exclusion is not being considered until all the facts are known.

Deep sea mining looks for valuable minerals that are scarce on land, including silver, copper, zinc, manganese and even diamonds. One of the minerals that is particularly sought after is cobalt, which is used in electric car batteries and is in limited supply on Earth. Both cobalt and copper are considered essential for the green transition.

Valuable mineral deposits

The mining sites are mostly located near the hydrothermal vents of extinct underwater volcanos between 1,400 and 3,700 meters below the ocean’s surface. These vents contain huge sulfide deposits of valuable metals that can be dredged from the seabed by ships on the surface.

The deposits are brought to the surface using hydraulic pumps and buckets. Digging them up using long-range machines can destroy deep-sea habitats, leading to the loss of species, many of which are found nowhere else, along with the fragmentation or loss of ecosystem structure and function. They also pose a significant pollution threat, both in the ocean and on the surface.

Deep-sea mining can also potentially disturb millions of tons of seafloor sediments annually, releasing carbon that has accumulated over millions of years into the oceanic carbon cycle. As signatories of the Finance for Biodiversity Pledge, the financial institutions calling for a moratorium are all committed to helping protect and restore biodiversity and ecosystems through their investment and finance activities.

Widespread concern

“There is widespread concern in the scientific community regarding deep sea mining and the irreversible impact it could have on deep ocean ecosystems., says Lucian Peppelenbos, Climate and Biodiversity Strategist at Robeco. “We can’t afford to run that risk blindly, because the ocean is the largest carbon sink that we’ve got.”

“At the same time, we might need the metals from the deep sea, because mining on land is also reaching its limits. Deep sea mining could help provide minerals required for the net zero transition. However, the jury is still out on this expectation.”

“As a signatory to Finance for Biodiversity Pledge, we propagate the precautionary principle to this dilemma. It is obvious that we will need strong innovation and explore unchartered territory in order to achieve a net zero economy. But we can’t proceed to exploit this massive natural asset without a comprehensive understanding of the risks and how to properly manage these.

時刻把握我們最新市場觀點及電子報​

接收荷寶電子報,率先閱讀最新洞察分析,並構建最綠色的投資組合。

掌握新形勢

Is it economically viable?

Aside from the environmental risks, with the associated regulatory and reputational risks for any institution invested in a mining company engaged in it, it isn’t certain that deep-sea mining is economically viable.

“There is no established science nor regulation (yet) for the exploitation of seabed resources,” says Sylvia van Waveren, Engagement Specialist at Robeco. “Furthermore, there is no established technology, and it still needs to be developed to get it scalable – so far, only pilots are being conducted.”

“While we have little exposure to the industry, we believe that investing in deep sea mining activities could expose financial institutions to significant policy, regulatory and reputational risks. We therefore prefer seabed mining only to go ahead when the environmental, social and economic risks and opportunities are comprehensively understood.”

No exclusions so far

There won’t be any exclusions, however, for companies that do choose to participate. “We plan to stay away from an exclusion, mainly because there are too many question marks, a lack of data, and the possibility that the metals and minerals from the seabed might be needed badly for the global energy transition,” says Van Waveren.

“We are of the opinion that engagement with the industry is the way forward. This will provide us with knowledge, science outcomes, the challenges, the open questions and the risks and opportunities that are out there.”

“Soon we will start engaging with two of the companies we hold in our portfolios and which are currently involved in seabed mining pilots.”

免責聲明

本文由荷宝海外投资基金管理(上海)有限公司(“荷宝上海”)编制, 本文内容仅供参考, 并不构成荷宝上海对任何人的购买或出售任何产品的建议、专业意见、要约、招揽或邀请。本文不应被视为对购买或出售任何投资产品的推荐或采用任何投资策略的建议。本文中的任何内容不得被视为有关法律、税务或投资方面的咨询, 也不表示任何投资或策略适合您的个人情况, 或以其他方式构成对您个人的推荐。 本文中所包含的信息和/或分析系根据荷宝上海所认为的可信渠道而获得的信息准备而成。荷宝上海不就其准确性、正确性、实用性或完整性作出任何陈述, 也不对因使用本文中的信息和/或分析而造成的损失承担任何责任。荷宝上海或其他任何关联机构及其董事、高级管理人员、员工均不对任何人因其依据本文所含信息而造成的任何直接或间接的损失或损害或任何其他后果承担责任或义务。 本文包含一些有关于未来业务、目标、管理纪律或其他方面的前瞻性陈述与预测, 这些陈述含有假设、风险和不确定性, 且是建立在截止到本文编写之日已有的信息之上。基于此, 我们不能保证这些前瞻性情况都会发生, 实际情况可能会与本文中的陈述具有一定的差别。我们不能保证本文中的统计信息在任何特定条件下都是准确、适当和完整的, 亦不能保证这些统计信息以及据以得出这些信息的假设能够反映荷宝上海可能遇到的市场条件或未来表现。本文中的信息是基于当前的市场情况, 这很有可能因随后的市场事件或其他原因而发生变化, 本文内容可能因此未反映最新情况,荷宝上海不负责更新本文, 或对本文中不准确或遗漏之信息进行纠正。