Greenpeace reaction to International Seabed Authority election

Today the International Seabed Authority’s Assembly voted in secret ballot for the new Secretary General. Responding to the news that the Brazilian oceanographer and diplomat Leticia Carvalho has been elected as the new Secretary General, Greenpeace International campaigner Louisa Casson said:

“Leticia Carvalho has just been elected on a promise to deliver much-needed transparency and accountability to this organisation that is of vital importance for the future of the oceans. The new Secretary General must put the health of the oceans at the heart of the ISA.

“People around the world looking at what has happened here in the past week are seeing a growing wave of resistance to deep sea mining as well as companies discrediting scientific work and Indigenous peoples’ cultural heritage.

“We hope to see the new Secretary General take the helm and work with governments to change the ISA’s course to serve in the public interest, as it has been driven by the narrow corporate interests of the deep sea mining industry for far too long.”