Norway has become new The first country in the world to give the green light seabed mining. It’s an industrial activity eagerly awaited by companies seeking critical minerals for electric batteries and solar panels (as well as for some pharmaceuticals), but also widely feared by scientists and environmentalists as it opens the door to major advances. impacts on the environment seabed.
The Norwegian parliament voted in favor this Tuesday Allow mineral exploration on the seabed of a large region located in the ArcticUnder an agreement reached between the government and major opposition parties last month and despite protests from environmental activists.
Critical minerals for the energy transition
With this political decision, Norway hopes to become the first country to make deep-sea mining a reality on a commercial scale. Thus, critical minerals for energy conversion are obtained.Despite existing concerns about the environmental impact this activity will have.
In fact, despite interest from numerous companies to begin mining in various parts of the planet, no operating permits have yet been issued, although dozens of permits have been issued for drilling. Spain is one of the countries that strongly opposes underwater mining.
There is no set timeline yet for when exploration could begin, although the plan is to grant winning companies exclusive rights for exploration and possible extraction of certain areas, according to Reuters.
The process will be based on the process established for Norway’s oil and gas explorationA political official told Reuters that issues such as the amount and nature of taxes would be discussed at a later stage.
“Now we will see whether this can be done sustainably, and that is the step we are taking now,” Energy Minister Terje Aasland told parliament.
The modified version of the government proposal discussed this Tuesday is sets stricter environmental requirements more than originally planned during the exploration phase.
confrontation with the EU
The measure passed by the Norwegian Parliament puts the country in a clear confrontation with the EU and the UK, which have called for a temporary ban on the practice due to current threats of serious environmental damage.
Mineral collection techniques from the seabed, significant amounts of noise and light pollution, as well as damage to living spaces. Number of organisms dependent on nodules, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
Unusually in November, 120 EU MPs write an open letter asking the Norwegian parliament to reject the project Because of the “risk such activities pose to marine biodiversity and the acceleration of climate change.” According to the BBC, the letter also states that there are many gaps in Norway’s impact assessment.
In addition to criticism from outside The Norwegian government also received rejection from its own experts. The Norwegian Institute of Marine Research (IMR) says the government made assumptions from a small survey area and applied them to the entire area planned to be drilled. It is estimated that five to ten more years of research are needed on impacts on species.
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