As the thirtieth Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP 30) opens in Belém, Brazil, trust has re-emerged as the defining currency of multilateral action. Whether on climate, biodiversity or the deep ocean, public confidence in how global institutions make decisions has become as important as the decisions themselves.
Nowhere is this tension clearer than in the International Seabed Authority (ISA) – the United Nations body responsible for regulating mineral activities in international waters. As the world debates how to balance the demand for critical minerals with the protection of marine ecosystems, ISA faces a profound test of legitimacy.
For three decades, the Authority has been tasked with both promoting and regulating seabed mining under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. That dual role, designed in another era, has become increasingly difficult to reconcile. Calls for transparency, independent science and public participation are growing louder as governments negotiate a mining code that will shape the deep ocean’s future.
Yet the lesson is broader than the seabed. Across the United Nations system, legitimacy today depends less on mandate and more on process – on whether institutions are open, inclusive and grounded in evidence. The reforms now discussed within ISA offer insights that extend to every multilateral arena, including climate diplomacy.
Three principles stand out.
1. Transparency as the foundation of legitimacy.
Transparency is not a threat to diplomacy; it is its modern basis. Public access to environmental data, live coverage of deliberations and open publication of scientific assessments strengthen confidence in how decisions are made. Trust grows when the public can see how evidence informs policy.
2. Independent science as a safeguard for fairness.
Decisions affecting ecosystems that span continents must rely on science free from political or commercial influence. Establishing independent review panels – similar to those used by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change – could help ensure that evidence behind decisions is credible, peer-reviewed and publicly available.
3. Inclusive participation as a measure of equity.
The deep ocean is part of the common heritage of humankind. Its governance must reflect that diversity. Expanding the role of civil society, small island developing States and early-career scientists in ISA processes would ensure that decisions are not driven solely by those with industrial capacity but by a broader sense of collective stewardship.
Implementing these principles would not only enhance the effectiveness of ISA; it would send a signal that global institutions can evolve to meet new ethical and ecological expectations. The deep sea is often described as Earth’s last frontier, but it is also a mirror: how we govern it reflects how seriously we take our shared responsibilities under the Charter of the United Nations.
As COP 30 seeks to rebuild trust in multilateral climate action, the ocean offers both a challenge and an opportunity. By applying the same principles of transparency, independence and inclusion to the governance of the seabed – and to the climate process itself – the international community can demonstrate that the global commons can be managed responsibly for the benefit of all nations, present and future.
Restoring trust in governance is not a matter of symbolism; it is a condition for progress. From Kingston to Belém, the message is the same: legitimacy begins with transparency, and reform is not delay – it is the only path to credibility.
Note
These reflections build on ideas first outlined in a Nature World View article of October 2025 on ISA reform, which examined how transparency, scientific independence and accountability can help rebuild trust in global governance:
Carlos García-Soto, “Trust in the sea-bed mining authority is fragile – here’s how to change that”, Nature World View, vol. 646, No. 8083 (2 October 2025), p. 9.
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