Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahar Storr delivers a speech at the autumn 2024 conference of Norwegian multinational energy company Equinar on November 26, 2024 in Oslo, Norway.
Thomas Feure | Afp | Getty Images
Norway has shelved plans to open a vast area of ocean beneath the Arctic on a commercial scale Deep sea mining.
The decision, confirmed late Sunday, comes after the country’s Socialist Left Party He said It will not support the minority government’s budget unless the first licensing round for mineral activities is abandoned, initially scheduled for the first half of next year.
Environmental campaigners welcomed the deal “Big win” and “an important step in stopping this industry from destroying life on the ocean floor.”
Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Storr described the move as a “procrastination,” Reuters reported. Reported Sunday, citing comments made to private broadcaster TV2.
Storr leads Norway’s centre-left Labor Party, the senior party in a minority government coalition with the Center Party.
Norway has taken it controversially The main character The process of extracting minerals from the seabed puts the country at odds with countries such as Germany, Britain, Canada and Mexico, which have all called for a halt to deep-sea mining amid environmental concerns.
The practice of deep-sea mining involves heavy machinery to remove minerals and metals — cobalt, nickel, copper and manganese — from the seabed, where they build up into potato-sized nodules.
The end-uses of these minerals are wide-ranging and include electric vehicle batteries, wind turbines and solar panels.
Scientists warn that the full environmental impacts of deep-sea mining are difficult to predict.
Environmental advocacy groups, meanwhile, say the practice is unsustainable and will inevitably lead to ecosystem destruction and species extinction.
Parliamentary voting In JanuaryNorwegian lawmakers have voted to open up a vast area of the Arctic — roughly the size of Italy — to deep-sea mining exploration. This led to companies applying to mine in the country’s national waters near the Svalbard archipelago.
Two posters on a wall to “stop deep sea mining” during day two of the Glastonbury Festival 2024 at Worthy Farm, Pilton on June 27, 2024 in Glastonbury, England.
Luke Brennan | Redferns | Getty Images
Government of Norway He said It will begin the first licensing round in June, with the goal of issuing the first exploitation licenses early next year.
Sunday’s postponement, however, means government parties have agreed to hold off on the first licensing round until the end of next year. Norwegian parliamentary elections are scheduled for September 2025.
‘What a shame indeed’
The Norwegian government is behind defended its plans To proceed with deep-sea mining, he said, would represent a necessary step into the unknown that would help break the rare earth dominance of China and Russia.
“No government committed to sustainable ocean management can support deep-sea mining,” Greenpeace Nordic’s deep-sea mining campaigner Haldis Tjeldflot Helle said in a statement.
“It’s really embarrassing for Norway to position itself as an ocean leader, when Norway plans to give the green light to marine destruction in its own waters,” Helle said.
Norway’s Energy Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
