Jason Momoa’s environmental documentary Deep Rising inspires a global impact campaign headed by co-founder of Palau Pledge Laura Clarke in partnership with Coogee-based creative agency Emotive.
The Deep Rising documentary premiered at Sundance in 2023 and explores the urgent threat posed to the ocean by countries backed by global corporations and organisations who want to mine the deep seabed for profit.
The documentary kicked off the global citizen-led Deep Rising impact campaign to oppose mining the deep seabed.
A mural by iconic Australian artist and musician Reg Mombassa and Apparition Media was unveiled today by Emotive along with this call-to-arms to the marketing industry to get involved.
The request to the marketing industry is to get behind the campaign which is currently in the works, by donating media to the Deep Rising campaign launching in June, whether that's ad space or editorial support, the target being $5m of donated global media, with Emotive leading the strategy and creative.
Mural.
Head of impact for Deep Rising Laura Clarke said not enough independent scientific research has been conducted to understand the environmental consequences that deep seabed mining could cause.
"So without intervention, we could be walking blindly into one of the most catastrophic ecological disasters of our time," Clarke said.
"If we can unite and draw mass global awareness to the fact that the seabed is the birthright of everyone on the planet, we can create direct action ahead of the ISA’s forthcoming decision in July this year on whether they will grant licences for pro-mining nations and companies to mine an area of the Pacific Ocean the size of Europe."
Director and producer of Deep Rising Mattheiu Rytz said the fact is they don’t actually need the rare earth metals they want to mine from the seabed.
"They say we need them to transition to a ‘green energy revolution’, including for electric cars, but the world’s biggest EV manufacturer, BYD, already uses tech in all their vehicles that does not require any of those deep sea metals like Cobalt, Nickel and Manganese," Rytz said.
"Mining companies have been creating a false narrative saying the deep seabed is essentially a barren desert and claiming the harm caused by mining will be minimal. But they’re deliberately omitting the fact that the deep seabed is the largest living space on earth and the largest carbon sink on the planet.
"The mass of the microbial life in the deep seabed is the equivalent to the mass of 200 billion African elephants."
CEO Emotive Simon Joyce said Deep Rising isn't just a campaign; it's a vital call to action to safeguard the planet's future.
"We’ve always believed in the power of creativity to change how people feel, and what better cause to apply that to than this," Joyce said.
"That's why we're incredibly inspired by Matthieu Rytz and Laura Clarke's vision, and proud to spearhead this campaign. This is a rare opportunity to help stop an ecological disaster before it starts.
"We’re hoping to harness the collective power of the marketing industry to help drive people to reclaim the deep seabed, as their birthright. If media owners, media agencies or brands want to get involved, we'd love to speak to them about how they can help.”
Artist and Deep Rising mural creator Reg Mombassa said when Deep Rising asked him to design an image for a mural critical of deep seabed mining, he was happy to accept the commission.
"I have always been sceptical and suspicious of big business. Capitalism has brought many benefits to the world, but unregulated capitalism and the vigorous pursuit of profit and expansion have caused irreparable harm to the natural world and to humans," Mombassa said.
"I can't see how deep sea mining will be any different.”
Deep Sea Rising team.
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