Is Deep Sea Mining Going to Save Us From the Climate Crisis?

Raising the Bar

Join us to explore the urgent debate over deep-sea mining in the Pacific and its impact on ocean ecosystems, communities, and green tech.

Two Thumb Brewing - Redcliffs

Raising the Bar Christchurch

Raising the Bar Christchurch is back on Tuesday 16 September 2025, with 20 free talks at 10 venues. Get your free tickets today and join us for a night of innovation and inspiration!

Talk DescriptionThe world’s very first deep-sea mining (DSM) venture is looming, with corporate interests vowing to start mining the Pacific’s sea floor by the end of the year. This would mark the first time in the history of humanity that the deep-sea floor is disturbed at a large scale. These DSM corporations, alongside several pro-DMS governments, argue that we must mine the sea because it’s extraordinarily rich in the minerals needed for the ‘green’ transition away from fossil fuel-reliant technologies. DSM remains controversial, with many Pacific communities calling for a ten-year moratorium due to limited understanding of fragile deep-sea ecosystems. This talk will explore the current debates around DSM in the Pacific.BioPascale Hatcher is Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science and International Relations at the University of Canterbury. For the past 25 years, she has been working across the Global South to understand why countries rich in natural resources such as gold, diamonds and critical minerals, are often the poorest in the world. More recently, she has been exploring how the idea of deep-sea mining is being debated in the Pacific Island Countries.

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