Norway鈥檚 parliament commercial plans to open the Arctic Ocean to seabed mineral exploration, despite environmental groups and the fishing industry鈥檚 warnings that the move would put the biodiversity of vulnerable ecosystems at risk.
The bill, voted in 80-20聽by lawmakers, allows the exploration of around 280,000 sq km (108,000 sq m) of Arctic seabed, an area bigger than the size of the United Kingdom, between Norway and Greenland.
It is anticipated that an agreement on deep-sea mining in international waters could follow later in the year.
The move by the European country, where vast oil and gas reserves have made it one of the world鈥檚 wealthiest nations,聽aims to diversify its economy away from fossil fuels.
But it puts the country at odds with the EU and the UK, which have called for a temporary ban on the practice because of concerns about environmental effects.
鈥淲e鈥檝e mapped vast areas in the northern Norwegian Sea since 2017. We鈥檝e taken samples and collected data about minerals and metals found on the seabed,鈥� the government said in a statement. 鈥淲e鈥檝e done this by means of our own expeditions, and also in cooperation with expert communities聽from universities.鈥�
The Norwegian continental shelf contains sulfide crusts, which may hold as much as 45 million tonnes of zinc. Manganese crusts, also present, may have around 3 million metric tonnes of cobalt, according to a聽聽released by the government last June.
Critics were quick to react. Greenpeace called it 鈥渁 shameful day鈥� for Norway. 鈥淚t is embarrassing to watch Norway positioning itself as an ocean leader while giving the green light to ocean destruction in Arctic waters,鈥� said Frode Pleym, head of Greenpeace Norway. 鈥淏ut this doesn鈥檛 end here. The wave of protests against deep sea mining has only begun.鈥�
鈥淏lack mark鈥� on Norway鈥檚 reputation
Kaja L酶nne Fj忙rtoft, global policy lead for WWF鈥檚 No Deep Seabed聽Mining聽Initiative, said the organization was drawing a 鈥渟mall glimmer of hope鈥� from the fact that extraction licences would still need parliamentary approval, an amendment added after strong international pushback.
The Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF) said the decision, would act as 鈥渁n irrevocable black mark on Norway鈥檚 reputation as a responsible ocean state鈥�.
Analysts highlight the risk of geopolitical tension in Europe鈥檚 northern and baltic regions. The聽area Norway has opened up to exploration, in the Barents Sea and Greenland Sea, is near the Arctic islands of the Svalbard archipelago. Oslo claims it has the sole right to mine in this area, but Russia and the European Union dispute this claim.
While international rules for seabed mineral extraction are yet to be set, Norway doesn鈥檛 need to wait. According to the nation鈥檚 Ministry of Petroleum and Energy, the 280,000km2 (108,000 sq miles) along the mid-Atlantic Ridge, contains volcanic springs that surge from the Earth鈥檚 crust. They are believed to host an estimated 38 million tonnes of copper鈥攎ore than the world鈥檚 approximate annual copper production.
A government-sponsored survey also found rare earth elements in polymetallic sulphides, or so-called 鈥渂lack smokers鈥�, nearly 3,000 metres (9,842 feet) deep.
Proponents of deep sea mining argue that extracting raw materials from the seafloor will enable a faster transition to a low-carbon economy and could come at a lower environmental cost than terrestrial mining.
Scientists say very little is still known about the depths of the world鈥檚 oceans 鈥斅犅爋f which humans have explored 鈥� and many are concerned about the impacts on these ecosystems already affected by pollution, trawling and the climate crisis.