Nel Blu — Issue 014

nel blu™ ~ italian for in the blue
stories about the people, ideas, and investments shaping the future of our ocean

A near-unanimous vote to slow the deep-sea mining rush

Greenland just drew a line in the seabed to protect its ocean floor from mining.

On October 15, the country’s parliament voted to pause seabed mining, the practice of scraping the deep ocean floor for metals and minerals. The vote told Greenland’s government to stop handing out mining licenses. Two concerns were behind it: foreign companies eyeing Greenland’s deep sea, and the harm mining could do to ocean life. 

Of the parliament’s 31 members, 17 were present, and every one of them backed it, across party lines. The government has now been told to write a formal bill suspending seabed mining until at least the end of 2029, with the option to extend.

Greenland lives off its ocean. More than 90% of the country’s exports come from fishing. Lawmakers decided the risk to that ocean, its fish, and the animals people depend on, wasn’t worth it, especially with other countries circling to mine the deep sea.

Why It Matters

The deep seabed is one of the last places on Earth we’ve barely touched. It’s dark, cold, and full of life we’re only starting to understand. Mining it can wipe out entire habitats before we even know what lived there, and once they’re gone, they don’t come back.

While this isn’t full protection yet, it’s a vote directing the government to act. The actual bill is expected in early 2027. And it comes as outside pressure builds: just a day before the vote, on October 14, President Trump said “massive” oil, gas, and mineral exploration was about to begin in Greenland, a claim that runs directly against what Greenland’s parliament just decided.

Greenland isn’t alone in this. More than 45 countries have now called for a halt to deep-sea mining in international waters until the science is in, according to the Deep Sea Conservation Coalition.

Among the voices behind that push is Sir David Attenborough, who has warned:

“The rush to mine this pristine and unexplored environment risks creating terrible impacts that cannot be reversed. We need to be guided by science when faced with decisions of such great environmental consequence.”

What You’re Looking At:
A diver hangs in the blue beneath Greenland’s ice, alone beside the submerged belly of an iceberg.

COP31 • November 9th - 20th • Antalya, Türkiye
COP is the world’s biggest annual climate summit, run under the UN climate convention first adopted in 1992. Every year it brings together heads of state, ministers, scientists, and business and civil society leaders to negotiate global action on climate change. This year marks the 31st round, hosted by Türkiye.

BlueInvest Africa • Nov 2 - 3 • Cape Town, South Africa

Tomorrow Blue Economy • Nov 3 - 5 • Barcelona

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