This story was updated Aug. 29.
One of Leticia Reis de Carvalho’s top priorities when she steps up in four months to lead an international agency overseeing deep-sea mining for electric vehicle battery metals: investigating her predecessor.
The Brazilian oceanographer was elected in a 79-34 vote earlier this month to serve as the first woman and scientist to lead the International Seabed Authority, marking the end of a tumultuous eight-year run for Michael Lodge, a British lawyer who’s faced a barrage of accusations, including mismanagement and being too close to industry.
Carvalho on Monday told POLITICO’s E&E News that she not only supports an investigation into Lodge’s handling of the United Nations-affiliated agency — she plans to work with ISA council members to spearhead it.
“If I am to be neutral and professional, I need to get to know if there [was] corruption … in the relationship of the secretary-general with contractors,” said Carvalho. “I’m committed to act on both sides, on administration and corruption, including allegations related to contracts.”
Scrutiny of the small, Jamaica-based agency has skyrocketed in recent months as its members — diplomats from 168 member states and the European Union member — debate if, how and when the world’s oceans should be mined for potato-sized rocks — known as nodules — rich in minerals like nickel, cobalt and graphite currently needed to make EV batteries.
So far, the agency has approved more than 30 exploration contracts.
Lodge’s administration has faced mounting allegations, from misusing agency funds to signing off on a plan to dissuade Carvalho from running against him, according to a July story in The New York Times. Lodge denied any wrongdoing and defended the agency in a statement to the Times this summer.
ISA in a statement reiterated that it adheres to the most rigorous standards of good governance for international organizations and is dictated by rules enshrined in the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea. ISA said all allegations have been found to be “deprived of any serious and credible grounds,” and that ISA’s finance committee, council and assembly found the allegations to be baseless.
Carvalho, who is currently in Nairobi, Kenya, with the U.N. Environment Programme, will soon depart for Jamaica to replace Lodge and lead the ISA. She’ll do so amid mounting calls from environmental groups, countries and businesses for a pause on plans to plumb the deep seas.
At the same time, a Vancouver, British Columbia-based mining company, the Metals Co., has said it intends to apply for an application to mine the floor of the Pacific Ocean in March 2025.
Carvalho isn’t backing a moratorium.
Instead, she said her duty is to deliver a strong but flexible mining code by the end of next year that takes into account a growing body of research about the world’s oceans, including the recent discovery of “dark oxygen.”
ISA is an autonomous international organization established under the 1982 U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea, a global treaty that governs all aspects of the ocean, including resources beyond national jurisdiction. The U.S. never ratified the treaty, and efforts to change course have faltered in Congress.
Carvalho talked to E&E News about crafting those rules, boosting transparency and pushing for investigations:
What changes will you bring about at ISA?
I will start with a fundamental change [to] the governance of ISA itself, the management of the organization.
Questions from member states put to the secretariat were not responded [to] or [sufficiently answered]. I hope that I will be able to have at my fingertips all the necessary answers about management, travel, recruitments — all the managerial aspects for member states in case they have questions.
The other one is really the political transparency: not aligning myself with any particular position, but rather bringing the neutrality and the sober approach of the secretary-general to the center of my leadership. I’m looking for openness, broader participation and an inclusive relationship with the press.
Should a mining code be in place before any permits are approved?
The mining code is due [by] the end of the next year.
I believe that if a mining request is … approved in the absence of a fully fledged and developed mining code … this is going to lead to litigation in several courts. And it’s not going to deliver the due assurances to the council, to the member states, to the constituency of ISA, therefore to the whole humankind that they represent there, that activities are going in accordance with [the law]. This is my opinion as a person, because the council may take a different decision.
Do you support a ban or moratorium on deep-sea mining?
No. I wouldn’t have put myself forward to lead an organization that has the mandate to develop deep-sea mining [if I were] against the activity.
I think what we do as humanity is understand the disruption we create, we manage risks and we try to anticipate as much as possible the consequences. We balance this with the sober approach of science, scientific and knowledge evidence, and of course political good sense or common sense.
Do you believe that deep-sea mining can be done safely?
We are [on the cusp] of having the opportunity to be the first generation to really design an activity that can be sustainable.
There will be disruption. But what we are looking for in terms of sustainability … is how to manage this in a way that the risk is acceptable, it’s manageable and it’s minimized as much as possible.
The New York Times reported that an ambassador from the Pacific island nation of Kiribati offered you a job to drop out of the race to lead ISA.
Absolutely. It was never denied by the ambassador, since it was dismissed by Michael Lodge. The ambassador was there, the meeting happened. I can tell you the hour, where we were, who was there. He spoke on behalf of Michael Lodge.
It’s unfortunate that this kind of approach was considered, and I wonder how detrimental [it] is for the image of ISA as a relevant multilateral organization custodian of the seabed — the biggest common ecosystem in this planet.
And you want to change that?
There is a need for reform … including staff turnover. Nevertheless, I am confident I can bring about change under the rule of the Law of the Sea and U.N. best practices.
It’s quite surprising that [Lodge], four months before he is scheduled to leave office … had the audacity … to open six recruitments in August, after the election, brand-new recruitments, including the deputy position that was offered.
Even though it’s administratively possible, it is abusive and inappropriate from a diplomatic perspective for someone with four more months in a four-year term to open those positions with a budget that is set aside for the next cycle [2025 to 2026] and outside of his ruling.
I sent a letter to him and to the administration of ISA calling for an immediate freeze of this recruitment. I hope my plea would be considered. If not, I will definitely use my capacity as the new administrator to revisit each and every one of these recruitments.
[Editor’s note: When asked about the recruitments, ISA said all vacant positions are advertised through official channels and subject to competitive recruitment. All matters tied to governance of the agency remain the responsibility of the secretary-general until the next elected official takes office, said ISA.]
Whistleblowers have called for investigations into allegations of corruption against Lodge.
I’m supportive of it. The lack of answers to questions about expenditures [regarding the 2023-2024 budget] and about recruitments and promotions not approved by the council or not conducted under the due U.N. recruitment rules and procedures. Both force my new administration to take measures to understand what needs to change.
I would have loved to arrive in this position and just say that ‘I will look ahead’ .. but my attention will be required to identify and fix things.
He never really reached out to discuss the transition despite [my attempts] … and he is recruiting key positions on my behalf with a budget that he doesn’t have any power to rule. If new recruitments are done by the current administration before 1st January when my turn starts, I will review and revisit all processes. So bottom line, I can just cut off the budget for these positions.
[Editor’s note: ISA said the secretariat — on behalf of the agency and Lodge — issued a statement of congratulating Carvalho following the election, and that Lodge sent a personal letter to Carvalho offering support.]
So you’ll launch an investigation?
I have no option. I will need to bring the [United Nations Board of Auditors] and [Office of Internal Oversight Services] into it, but I also will do an independent investigation.
I will need to look back and backwards and invest in trying to understand what happened … in order to make corrections and manage in a better way. I will need to know what I’m inheriting. Equally relevant as it is to deliver an effective and complete Mining Code, according to provisions of the Law of the Sea.
Will you focus on management and allegations of corruption?
Both. Because the corruption elements directly speak with the contracts and the contractors and therefore, of course, put at stake the efforts done so far by ISA as a whole.
If I am to be neutral and professional, I need to get to know if there [was] corruption … in the relationship of the secretary-general with contractors. I’m committed to act on both sides, on administration and corruption, including allegations related to contracts.
Will that be difficult?
I believe that I will face challenges, no doubt, but I’m sure that I will be able to identify a good team and set up the necessary supporting network.
[The vote] brings me the confidence that there was a [call] for change. … I’m very glad [the vote] was a landslide. … I feel very empowered.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
