The Hawaiian actor is the documentary’s narrator Deep Rising which denounces the race of large industrial groups in search of rare metals in the deep seabed.
American actor Jason Momoa, the superhero of the seasAquaman at the cinema, sounded a cry of alarm on Friday at the Sundance film festival against the dangers of seabed mining.
The Hawaiian-born actor is the narrator of Deep Risingone of the most anticipated documentaries of the festival, which denounces the race of large industrial groups in search of rare metals in the abyss.
The deep seabed, which absorbs large quantities of carbon dioxide, arouses covetousness, because of the deposits of rare metals they shelter, used in industrial and electronic applications.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zq0CauN4mQs
Degradation of marine ecosystems
Proponents of seabed mining argue that harvesting polymetallic nodules, including nickel and cobalt used for automotive electric batteries, can help reduce dependence on fossil fuels.
But environmentalists and scientists fear, in addition to risks for vulnerable species in these areas, a degradation of marine ecosystems which play an essential role in climate regulation. Several countries have called for a moratorium or a ban on this exploitation.
“There were times when I cried and was overwhelmed with emotion” during the narration, Jason Momoa told AFP before the film’s world premiere at the festival, which takes place in Utah in the United States. -United.
“It’s very important to use your power for good. It’s about all these things that fascinate me”, adds the actor who took marine biology courses during his studies and was appointed as an ambassador for life under water by the United Nations Environment Program.
3,600 tonnes of extracted metals
The documentary follows key players in this emerging industry, such as the Canadian group TMC (The Metals Company). The latter obtainedInternational Seabed Authority (AIFM), which has its headquarters in Kingston, Jamaica, a first “test permit” last September to extract 3,600 tonnes of metals in the Clarion Clipperton zone (Pacific) near Hawaii.
It shows what happens behind the scenes when the group’s chief executive, Gerard Barron, woos investors by assuring them that the “most barren and desolate part of the planet” would suffer little damage compared to that inflicted on rainforests by the mining industry.
But “we know so little” about the real risks to the seabed, the director of Deep RisingMatthew Rytz.
“Seabed mining is just a rush, because we don’t yet have enough science to really understand what’s going on there,” he adds.
“The New Oil”
TMC, however, expects to extract ten million tons of material from the seabed each year from 2025. And this group is only one of about 20 research institutes or companies with exploration permits in the oceans. and waiting for the green light to start mining on a commercial scale.
Matthieu Rytz’s documentary argues that there is no “miracle solution” to the energy crisis. For him, the race that is preparing is only “the new oil” and could trigger in the future wars for access to resources.
The film shows meetings of the AIFM, described by Matthieu Rytz as a “dark room in Kingston, Jamaica” where delegates decide on “the future of 65% of the surface of the planet”.
“It’s about the high seas, it’s beyond national jurisdictions,” he insists. “It belongs to all of us or to no one”.
“It’s a total disaster”
In the film, Matthieu Rytz speaks with scientists why alternative, clean and more abundant energy sources, such as hydrogen, could be explored for the automotive industry or different options such as high-speed rail could be more developed.
“First, we don’t need these metals,” he argues. “These places where we are going to extract, it’s a total disaster. There is no half-disaster. It’s like razing a tropical forest.”
For Jason Momoa, watching this film “you have to ask yourself questions”, discuss it “and say to yourself: ‘we need to rethink everything'”.
