Deep-sea mining would cause "extensive and irreversible" damage to sensitive habitats.NOAA This story was originally published by the Guardian and is reproduced here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration. An investigation by conservationists has found evidence that deep-seabed mining of rare minerals could cause "extensive and irreversible" damage to the planet. The report, published on Monday by the international wildlife charity Fauna & Flora, adds to the growing controversy that surrounds proposals to sweep the ocean floor of rare minerals that include cobalt, manganese and nickel. Mining companies want to exploit these deposits--which are crucial to the alternative energy sector--because land supplies are running low, they say.

At the Goodwood festival of speed near Chichester, the crowds gathered at the hill-climb circuit to watch the world's fastest cars roar past, as they do every year. But not far from the high-octane action, there was a new, and quieter, attraction: a display of the latest electric vehicles, from the £28,000 Mini Electric to the £2m Lotus Evija hypercar. Even here, at one of the biggest events in Britain's petrolhead calendar, it's clear the days of the internal combustion engine are numbered. As countries strive to meet stringent carbon-emission targets, and vehicle-makers phase out combustion engines, 145m electric vehicles are predicted to be on the roads within a decade, up from 11m last year. The car batteries they require, along with storage batteries for solar and wind power, have sent demand for metals soaring, taking mining firms to the bottom of the sea in the hunt for those metals.