World leaders on Monday urged the establishment of international regulations to protect the ocean floor, cautioning against unchecked deep-sea mining in a move seen as a veiled criticism of former US President Donald Trump’s policies.
Concerns over Trump’s push to expedite mining in international waters dominated discussions at the UN Ocean Conference in France. French President Emmanuel Macron condemned the rush to exploit the seabed, calling it “madness” given the potential harm to biodiversity and irreversible damage to vital carbon sinks.
Macron stressed that a global moratorium on deep-sea mining is “an international necessity.” Opposition to such mining has grown, with 36 countries now against it, according to the Deep Sea Conservation Coalition.
Though Trump was absent from the summit in Nice, his shadow loomed as leaders reaffirmed their commitment to multilateralism—a system he frequently rejected. Of particular concern was his administration’s decision to bypass the International Seabed Authority (ISA) and grant permits directly to companies seeking to mine nickel and other metals in international waters.
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva called for “clear action” from the ISA to stop the “predatory race” for seabed resources. “We cannot allow the ocean to suffer the same unchecked exploitation that has plagued global trade,” he warned.
Macron, in a pointed remark, declared that the deep sea, Greenland, and Antarctica are “not for sale”—a clear rebuke of Trump’s expansionist ambitions. The conference highlighted growing global resistance to unregulated deep-sea mining, framing it as a threat to marine ecosystems and international cooperation.
