Norway pushes commercial-scale deep-sea mining near the Arctic

An underwater hydrothermal vent in the Arctic region

Reuters news agency reported on December 5 that the Norwegian government and two opposition parties have just agreed to support mineral exploration under the seabed in the Arctic region, an important step towards comprehensive ocean exploitation.

The deal comes as Norway hopes to become the first country to carry out deep-sea mining on a commercial scale for minerals and jobs, despite concerns about the environmental impact and international calls for a moratorium.

With the agreement, the government's draft amendments are expected to be formally debated by parliament on January 4, 2024, before being voted on. The draft sets out stricter environmental survey requirements during the exploration phase, compared to the original plan.

The deal will also leave it to parliament to decide whether to approve full-scale mining, based on data collected from the deep-sea environment during initial exploration.

Norwegian MP Baard Ludvig Thorheim said the environmental bar for seabed mining had been set quite high in the revised proposal.

He said there had been heated debate on how to strike a balance between environmental protection and commercial viability for companies looking to start exploiting the seas.

Seabed mining startup Loke Marine Minerals, which is part-invested by oil services company Technip FMC and Norwegian shipping group Wilhelmsen, welcomed the decision.

However, environmental group WWF said the decision further damaged Norway's reputation for ocean conservation and hoped the country's parliament would block any move to move towards full-scale exploitation of the seabed.

Source link: https://thanhnien.vn/na-uy-day-manh-khai-thac-day-bien-sau-quy-mo-thuong-mai-gan-bac-cuc-1852312052007253.htm