The Trump administration is skipping a global ocean summit next week while it pursues efforts to mine the seas for valuable resources.
The summit aims to promote enduring uses of ocean resources — one of 17 sustainable development goals by the United Nations — as climate change is having widespread repercussions on marine habitats, including record-breaking temperatures near U.S. coasts. But the Trump administration has rejected those goals, calling them “inconsistent with U.S. sovereignty.” A State Department spokesperson said the ocean conference is “at odds” with U.S. positions.
Those include an order by President Donald Trump to mine the ocean floor for critical minerals and plans to expand offshore drilling in the Arctic.
“Those are two areas where it appears that the U.S. government is starting to say that we’re going to take action unilaterally,” said Jeff Watters, vice president of external affairs at the environmental nonprofit Ocean Conservancy. “And if nations start pursuing unilateral action on the high seas, that’s a very dangerous place to be.”
