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The Norwegian government announced Tuesday it intends to allow seabed extraction for minerals on the country’s continental shelf saying Norway needs minerals “to succeed in the green transition”.
Made a day after the United Nations adopted a historic pact to protect the high seas, the announcement drew condemnation from environmental campaigners.
“The government proposes to open parts of the Norwegian continental shelf for commercial seabed mineral activities”, the Energy and Petroleum Ministry said in a press release. “Environmental considerations will be safeguarded throughout the value chain, and extraction will only be permitted if the industry can demonstrate sustainability and responsible practices.
“We need minerals to succeed in the green transition. Currently, the resources are controlled by a few countries, which makes us vulnerable.”
It said minerals can ensure the supply of metals crucial to the global shift to clean energy.
The ministry added, “Extraction of minerals could become a new and important industry for Norway”.
The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate, the ministry’s authority for seabed minerals, had already conducted a feasibility assessment and found “significant expected undiscovered mineral resources on the Norwegian continental shelf, some of which may be extractable”, the announcement said.
UN Treaty
The announcement comes a day after the UN concluded years of negotiation to pass an agreement safeguarding the open ocean, or waters not under the jurisdiction of individual countries.
“It will enable the establishment of area-based management tools, including marine protected areas, to conserve and sustainably manage vital habitats and species in the high seas and the international seabed area”, the UN said in a media statement. “Such measures are critical for archiving the ‘30 by 30’ global target to effectively conserve and manage at least 30 per cent of the world’s terrestrial and inland water areas, and of marine and coastal areas by 2030, as agreed in the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.”
“It also provides, for the first time, an international legal framework for the assessment of the cumulative impacts of activities and the consequences of climate change, ocean acidification and related impacts, in areas beyond national jurisdiction”, the UN added.
The pact enters into force after ratification by at least 60 states.
‘Lunacy’
Campaign group Blue Planet Society in a brief statement on social media called Norway’s plan “outright lunacy” saying there is no “dilemma” in protecting the seas and transitioning to clean energy.
“The Norwegian government wants to open Arctic waters to deep sea mining. This comes just one day after world leaders – including #Norway – finally adopted a Global Treaty to protect our oceans. This cannot be allowed to happen”, tweeted Greenpeace International, which in 2020 lost a suit against the government that would have stopped further oil drilling in Arctic waters.
“But the Norwegian government is underestimating the resistance to this industry – and to this whole mindset”, tweeted Louisa Casson, Greenpeace’s lead campaigner against deep sea mining. “Keeping fossil fuels in the ground does not mean *mining the seafloor* instead (obviously).”
‘Environmental Considerations’
Norway Energy and Petroleum Minister Terje Aasland said in Tuesday’s announcement, “I firmly believe that if the industry identifies resources that they consider economically viable to extract, it will be possible to extract these resources sustainably and responsibly”.
“Environmental considerations will weigh heavily throughout the value chain”, he added.
The ministry said it had already conducted an impact assessment and held a public consultation.
“Existing knowledge indicates that mapping, exploration, and closure have minimal environmental impact”, Tuesday’s statement said, despite Aasland acknowledging seabed minerals mining is a new industry where there is “limited knowledge”.
“To acquire more knowledge, we need to gather expertise and open for commercial mapping, exploration and extraction of seabed minerals. Therefore, we are proposing to open an area on the Norwegian continental shelf for mineral activities”, he said.
The ministry said, “Any extraction will only be approved if the rights holder’s recovery plan demonstrates that the extraction can occur in a sustainable and responsible manner”.
