Allegations that money may have been paid to secure votes; claims of misuse of government funds by diplomats; possible job offers to induce candidates to withdraw from the election.
These are not the shenanigans of a rigged election in a shaky country, but rather an attempt in the posh reception rooms of a UN agency to sway a decision to begin seabed mining for metals used in electric cars.
It’s all part of a bitter fight over who will be the next leader of the International Seabed Authority, which governs mining in international waters around the world.
The misconduct accusations highlight the controversial nature of the agency’s future plans and the billions of dollars involved. Some countries vehemently oppose the idea of mining in the world’s deepest waters, while others see it as a badly needed economic opportunity. Whoever leads the agency in the coming years will have an enormous influence over these decisions.
Michael LodgeHe has been executive director of the International Seabed Authority since 2016, and told the organization’s diplomats: 168 Members Elected by his nation to a third four-year term, he hopes from that position to help finalize environmental rules that are preparing to accept the first applications as early as this fall to begin industrial-scale drilling in the Pacific Ocean between Hawaii and Mexico.
His opponents were: Leticia Carvalho“The problem is that the government is trying to get the oil industry to a more cautious stage,” said Robert G. Schneider, a Brazilian oceanographer and former oil industry regulator. She said the rulemaking process will likely take years to complete, and called for a more cautious approach. Her position is that drilling applications shouldn’t be approved until that process is over.
Amid an already fierce campaign, a former senior official from the Seabed Development Authority filed a complaint with the UN in May, accusing Lodge and his deputy of misusing agency funds.
Supporters of each candidate said the other side was paying for the travel expenses of their delegates, Pay the delegation’s overdue dues Delinquent countries are generally barred from voting; 38 countries As of May, payments were late.
Each country Different amounts China will receive up to $1.8 million this year and Rwanda a minimum of $831, depending on the size of their economies, and the funds will be provided by the agency. Annual Budget.
Adding to the intrigue, the ambassador to the small Pacific island nation of Kiribati, which supports Lodge’s nomination, tried late last month to persuade Carvalho to withdraw from the election in exchange for a possible senior position at the Subsea Authority.
Had the undercover operation been successful, there would have been no opposition to Lodge. Lodge did not respond to written questions from his office about the effort. But in a six-page statement to The Times, he and his office refuted any suggestion that he misused agency funds or tried to improperly influence the election.
“You are amassing vague, unfounded and anonymous rumors, gossip and hearsay which are demonstrably untrue, lack a basis in fact or evidence and do not stand up to objective scrutiny.” Lodge said in a statement.He added that he and the Seabed Authority “adhere to the strictest standards of international good governance and management.”
The attempt to defeat Mr. Carvalho angered him and the Brazilian delegation. “We have a great candidate who already has a lot of support and will win this election,” said Bruno Imparato, a Brazilian diplomat who is supporting Mr. Carvalho’s campaign.
Kiribati Ambassador Tebulolo Tito, who urged Carvalho to withdraw from the election, confirmed the job offer in an interview with The New York Times, adding that Lodge’s signature on the proposal was part of a strategy to help him win reelection at the next meeting of the Subsea Authority, to be held at its headquarters in Kingston, Jamaica, in late July or early August.
“I don’t want someone to come and destroy what the ISA is trying to do,” Tito said in an interview, recalling him telling Carvalho. “I’m from an island. We’ve always believed in reconciliation. I don’t want there to be too much fighting in the villages.”
Lodge said in a statement that he was “not involved in the discussions referred to and is not a party to the proposal.” The agency said all vacancies are advertised through official channels and are subject to competitive recruitment.
The Seabed Authority is governed by 168 member states. United Nations Convention on the Law of the SeaIt declared that seabed metals in international waters are the “common heritage of mankind” and that access is controlled exclusively by the Seabed Authority.
Over the decades since, the Submarine Authority has established 31 Exploration Contracts Authorizations for mapping and other preparatory work in the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian Oceans. Now, the agency is preparing to consider an application for industrial-scale mining that would involve lowering bulldozer-like machines onto the ocean floor several miles below the surface.
Some countries are eager to move forward, but at least 25 A moratorium was proposed Or a “precautionary moratorium,” arguing that there isn’t enough data to guarantee mining won’t cause harm.
China has signed the most such contracts, with five in total, but exploration contracts are spread across several countries, including Russia, Poland, India, France, Germany, Japan and Pacific island nations. The United States has not ratified the treaty but is participating in discussions.
Member countries could carry out the exploration work themselves or hire contractors such as Metals Company, a Nasdaq-listed, Canada-based mining company that wants to start extracting millions of tonnes of metal-bearing nodules from the Pacific ocean floor. By 2026.
The company is focusing on one of its contract areas: 46,000 square miles Part of the Pacific Ocean Net income: $31 billion The company claims that there is sufficient nickel, cobalt and manganese in the contract area. All supplies Regarding demand for metals for automotive batteries in the United States.
“The Earth’s resources were made for humanity,” Tito said, explaining his reasons for opposing the proposed moratorium.
The Metals Company has been relying on Lodge to help pressure Seabed Authority member states to finalize the regulations. $6.8 million Its cash reserves at the end of last year were only a fraction of the capital the company needed to run its mining operations, causing some investors to hold off while it waits for the go-ahead.
Gerald BarronThe company’s chief executive, Baron, said he was not involved in lobbying for Lodge’s reelection, despite the criticism he would receive from environmentalists. “Such action could backfire very, very badly,” Baron said in an interview.
But Kiribati is one of three small Pacific island nations (the others are Nauru and Tonga) with which The Metals Company has contracted to secure mining rights to areas of the Pacific Ocean under the Seabed Authority, so it is in The Metals Company’s interest to help Kiribati win a third term for Mr Lodge.
Tito said he first met Lodge decades ago when he was a young lawyer in Kiribati, representing his family after his sister died in childbirth after being improperly sedated. Tito went on to become president of the nation of about 120,000 and is now ambassador to the United Nations.
Lodge, a British national, was nominated by the UK for his first two terms, but governments only support leaders of international organisations for two terms, Tito said, explaining Kiribati’s reason for nominating Lodge. The secretary-general’s salary is around $1 million.213,000 One Year.
Lodge has been in the position since January. China, Cameroon, Japan, Egypt, Italy and Caribbean countries Antigua and BarbudaLodge and his staff have described the visits as educational and outreach missions, but critics consider them inappropriate.
“He’s clearly running an election campaign, using the Submarine Authority as part of his election campaign,” Carvalho said.
Lodge responded that his travel to the office was necessary for his job and had nothing to do with the election. added “Mr Lodge, both as Secretary General and as an election candidate, will pay for delegates to attend the conference and condemns any attempt to influence the vote.”
The German government, which supports Carvalho’s election, has announced plans to call for an investigation into the Submarine Authority’s questionable financial activities. According to an email obtained by The Times,.
In a recent speech, Lodge noted the need for the Subsea Agency to complete its regulatory work. “It’s taken decades to get to where we are today, and there now seems to be no reason to deviate from an evolutionary approach,” he said. I said last month At the United Nations.
The allegations of misappropriation of Subsea Authority funds by Mr. Lodge, his chief executive and other agency employees were made by the agency’s former human resources director. According to a copy of the complaint obtained by The Times, Mr. Lodge received over $67,000 in excessive compensation since 2016 related to housing and other expenses in Jamaica and New York.
The complaint was sent to the U.N.’s internal oversight office, but emails obtained by The Times show it was sent back to the Undersea Authority, meaning Lodge was asked to respond to the allegations of potential misconduct.
In its response, the agency said it has robust and independent procedures in place to deal with staff grievances and complaints.
Carvalho, who now works as oceans chief for the U.N. Environment Program, said his backers were not willing to pay the participation fees of other delegations and that he would have a different management style than Lodge, who has faced accusations of being too closely tied to the mining industry and not providing enough transparency in the seabed authority’s operations.
While Brazil supports a 10-year moratorium on seabed mining, Carvalho said he does not support that position, but added that legal action would be called if the Seabed Authority allowed mining before environmental standards were finalized.
