Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gall Storr speaks at the 2024 Autumn Conference of Norwegian multinational energy company Equinor on November 26, 2024 in Oslo, Norway.
Thomas Faure | AFP | Getty Images
Norway shels plans to open up vast seas at the bottom of the Arctic for commercial-scale development deep sea mining.
The decision was confirmed by the country’s Social Left party on Sunday evening. explain It will not support the minority government’s budget unless it abandons the first round of mining activity licenses, scheduled for the first half of next year.
Environmentalists welcomed the agreement, calling it “huge victory” and “An important step to stop the industry from destroying life under the sea.”
Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gall Storr called the move a “delay”, Reuters report on Sunday, citing comments from private broadcaster TV2.
Storey leads Norway’s centre-left Labor Party, the highest-ranking party in a minority government coalition with the Center Party.
Norway has controversially taken main character The process of extracting minerals from the seafloor has put the country at odds with countries including Germany, Britain, Canada and Mexico, which have all called for a halt to deep-sea mining over environmental concerns.
The practice of deep-sea mining involves using heavy machinery to remove minerals and metals such as cobalt, nickel, copper and manganese from the seafloor, where they accumulate into potato-sized nodules.
These minerals have a wide range of end uses, including electric vehicle batteries, wind turbines and solar panels.
Scientists warn that the full environmental impact of deep-sea mining is difficult to predict.
Environmental campaign groups, meanwhile, say the practice is unsustainable and will inevitably lead to ecosystem damage and species extinction.
in parliamentary vote JanuaryNorwegian lawmakers have voted to open a vast area of the Arctic – an area the size of Italy – to deep-sea mining exploration. It paves the way for companies to apply to mine in national waters near Svalbard.
On the second day of the 2024 Glastonbury Music Festival at Pilton Worthy Farm in Glastonbury, England, June 27, 2024, two posters were posted on the wall demanding “stop seabed mining” of the deep sea. explore.
Luke Brennan | Redferns | Getty Images
norwegian government explain In June, the company will launch the first licensing round and aims to issue the first mining licenses early next year.
However, Sunday’s delay means government parties have agreed to delay the first round of licensing until the end of next year. Norway is scheduled to hold parliamentary elections in September 2025.
“Really embarrassing”
The Norwegian government has previously defend his plan The push for deep-sea mining, saying it reflects a necessary step into the unknown, could help break China and Russia’s dominance of rare earths.
“No government committed to sustainable ocean management can support deep-sea mining,” Haldis Tjeldflaat Helle, a deep-sea mining campaigner at Greenpeace Nordic, said in a statement .
“It is truly embarrassing to see Norway positioning itself as an ocean leader while planning to give a green light to ocean destruction in its own waters,” Heller said.
Norway’s energy ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
