The senior of one of the  aggressive seabed mining startups has been citing global warming for years to galvanize interest in mining avocado-sized rocks rich in metals for electric car batteries from the ocean floor.
At a 2019 meeting of the U.N.-affiliated International Seabed Authority, Gerard Barron, the Australian-born chief executive of the then-named DeepGreen, said Barron) said, “We want to help wean the world off fossil fuels with the least possible climate change and environmental impact.” For a decade, the International Seabed Authority has been debating regulations that would allow the exploitation of unexplored, biodiversity-rich deep-sea ecosystems in global waters.
That's no longer Barron's claim. Earlier this year, Barron introduced the concepts of “climate” and “critical minerals” at a meeting of a congressional committee in Washington, DC. Barron said his company, which has been renamed The Metals Company (TMC), will help "ensure the nation's energy security and industrial competitiveness for generations to come."" China follows suit 
Barron's new strategy is working. In April, President Donald Trump issued an executive order to expedite the issuance of U.S. seabed mining licenses, departing from international law and launching what the administration calls a “gold rush” to “counter China's growing influence.” Next year, China will conduct International Seabed Authority-approved tests of two seabed mining machines in the Pacific.