Norway shamed over plans to extract minerals from the seabed

Norway becomes the first country in the world to allow commercial seabed mining, arguing that “the world needs minerals as it transitions to a low-emission society.” The European Parliament will soon adopt a separate resolution on the decision of this Scandinavian country.

A series of controversial decisions to promote deep-sea mining and further expand Norway’s offshore oil and gas industry have left climate activists confused and rebuked by the EU.

“I’m not sure the government has realized how negatively this is perceived internationally,” Sveinung Rotevatn of Norway’s Liberal Party told news bureau NTB. His comments came after European commissioners in Brussels expressed “concerns” over the majority vote in Norway’s parliament to “establish highly controversial deep-sea mining on its continental shelf.”

Energy Minister Terje Åsland said that “geopolitical events highlight the importance of ensuring the supply of important minerals and metals from multiple sources, and that they come from countries with stable and democratic systems.”

“Scraping the seabed and destroying ecosystems vital to our planet is anything but sustainable, no matter what you use the minerals for,” responded the International Climate Action Network (CAN). The organization noted that Norway’s rationale “has been debunked by leading scientists and is both misleading and blatant brainwashing.” CAN called Norway “irresponsible”.

Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre addressed European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and informed her of “the background and content of Norway’s approach to seabed minerals in order to avoid misunderstandings.”

He emphasizes that Norway and the EU share the same values ​​when it comes to European security and competitiveness, as well as climate, nature and biodiversity. At the same time, he notes, access to mineral resources is important.

But the Commission’s position on the issue is also “very clear,” said EU Agriculture Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski: “The EU believes that deep-sea mining should be banned until its environmental impacts have been properly assessed.”

Although Norway has the sovereign right to use its own continental shelf, the EU representative stressed that the seas targeted for deep-sea mining by Norway are subject to UN regulation.

Member of the European Parliament Anja Hazekamp noted that “Norway for many years presented itself as the world’s environmentalist, but has now become a destroyer.” She called the country’s plans a “time bomb for the marine environment.”

Norwegian environmental and climate activists have spoken out against the Storting.

“This is good news,” commented Lars Haltbrekken, Member of Parliament from the Socialist Left Party and former leader of the Norwegian branch of the international organization Friends of the Earth. “The EU warnings against mining under the ocean show how strong the opposition is.”

WWF’s Caroline Andaur told NTB: “It would be a shame that Norway will be known as a nation that destroys unique nature in the speculative pursuit of profit in the name of the climate.” She highlights how negative the reaction has been internationally, arguing that the EU will not buy the minerals it extracts. Reportedly, market giants will not do this either.

Meanwhile, Norwegian environmental and climate activists have suffered a setback over a court ruling in early 2024 that gives companies the right to dump their tailings into the fjord.

“Minerals are fundamental to the production of everything from the defense industry to the electronic products we use every day,” Bård Ludwig Thorheim of the Conservative Party told the Klassekampen newspaper. Solar panels and electric cars, he says, need minerals, and Thorheim calls it a “great paradox” that the environmental movement often opposes mining.

“We’re not saying no to onshore mining,” argued Friends of the Earth leader Truls Gulousen, “we’re saying no to shoddy onshore mining. This is a dirty business and disposal issues are high on the list.”