On Saturday 3 June 2023 in Rouen, the environmental NGO Greenpeace held a global day of action to raise awareness of the forthcoming bulldozer mining of the seabed. To mark the occasion, the local branch in Rouen took action in front of the cathedral to inform passers-by about the project.
A number of Rouen-based NGO activists staged a “happening” in front of Rouen cathedral to raise awareness of the environmental risks posed by this future industrial project to send bulldozers 6,000 metres under the sea.
According to Hervé Boutard, Ocean Coordinator for the Rouen-based Greenpeace group: “The seabed is known for its biodiversity, but also for its mineral wealth, which is of great interest to certain mining companies. They want to extract what are known as polymetallic nodules. These are species of potato that contain metals, including lithium, which could be used for electric batteries”.
The French government seems to want to respect the precautionary principle and wait for the impact studies before authorising the project. Greenpeace has launched a petition to pressure other governments to apply this international precaution. Although all the risks to biodiversity are not yet known, some of the environmental consequences of deep-sea mining have already been raised by environmental campaigners. Greenpeace lists at least 5 of them on its website: thousands of species would be crushed and smashed at the bottom of the ocean, the mud released by this activity at the bottom of the water creates clouds that suffocate biodiversity, noise and light pollution disturbs species used to the calm of the abyss, heavy metals spread and accumulate in the food chain. Ploughing marine soils risks releasing carbon dioxide trapped in the sediments of organic matter found there.
Synthesis by Rachid Ouédraogo
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