Election of a new Secretary-General of the International Seabed Authority

A Brazilian oceanographer has been elected as the next secretary-general of the International Seabed Authority (ISA),

 and a change in leadership could reduce the ecosystem risks posed by the mining of seabed metals that are nevertheless vital

 for batteries used in electric cars, according to the website Mining.com.

When Leticia Carvalho takes up her post on New Year's Day next year, she will be the first woman and scientist at the helm of 

the UN-affiliated agency responsible for the fate of 54 per cent of the world's seabed. Carvalho, 50, a former environmental regulator in Brazil, 

is currently an official at the Nairobi-based UN Environment Programme.

Carvalho was elected on Friday (2 August) at the ISA's annual summer summit in the Jamaican capital, Kingston, and ended the second 

consecutive term of Brazilian lawyer Michael Lodge, 64. Lodge has pushed hard for deep-sea mining regulations in order to kick-start the

 deep-sea mining industry.

After a vote by ISA member states, Carvalho won the controversial campaign by 79 votes to 34.

In an interview with Bloomberg Green last month, Carvalho said her priorities as secretary-general would be science and acting as

 a conciliatory steward of ISA, which has 169 member states and the European Union. "Transparency and accountability are my top priorities," 

ISA has awarded 32 contracts to private and state-owned companies to explore for cobalt, nickel and other metals on the seabed in more than 1.3 million 

square kilometres (500,000 square miles) of international waters. Last year, the organisation planned to introduce complex rules in July 2025 to regulate

 mining activities. But Carvalho believes it will take years of consultation to ensure that biodiversity and poorly known seabed ecosystems are protected 

from mining activities.

"A lot of work needs to be done now", she said. "Logically, I can tell you that it's unlikely to be completed by the deadline that is currently set."

Matters were further complicated last month when scientists published a paper claiming that polymetallic nodules to be mined in the Pacific 

Ocean were in fact capable of producing oxygen, an unusual discovery that was cited by several ISA delegates as a reason to delay mining.

 With a record number of member states attending this year's meeting, the debate over the future of deep-sea mining has intensified. 

32 ISA member states have called for a suspension or moratorium on deep-sea mining, with five countries joining the ranks this week.

Adding to the urgency of the process is Canadian-registered miner The Metals Company (TMC), which has made it clear that it will apply

 for a mining licence this year, regardless of whether or not deep-sea mining regulations are in place by the deadline. If the application

 is approved, the company plans to begin mining operations in early 2026, and TMC has already signed mining contracts with the Pacific

 island nations of Nauru, Kiribati and Tonga. The first area to be mined is a large area between Hawaii and Mexico.

"This is colonialism in another sense, economic imperialism, where transnational mining companies put profits above the well-being of our 

people and ecosystems," Surangel Whipps Jr., President of the Pacific island nation of Palau, told delegates.

The Palau-led countries want a moratorium on deep-sea mining until the environmental impacts are well understood. Many member 

States have said they will not approve any mining licences until regulations are in place.

Despite the 15-year moratorium on deep-sea mining urged by her native Brazil, Carvalho said it was not convenient for her as secretary-general

 to state her position on the issue. "Interruption or moratorium is the position of many, but so far the matter has not been on the agenda of ISA," she said.

Others have urged ISA to fulfil its obligation to introduce regulations to open up deep sea mining. "On our blue Pacific continent, deep-sea 

minerals are the foundation of our wealth for future prosperity," said Cook Islands representative Sonny Williams.

TMC CEO Gerard Barron revealed that he has met Carvalho several times. "We like her. She can bring integration at a time when ISA is in need of people."