The Norwegian government is preparing to allow deep-sea mining in its territorial waters. The protests of environmental activists do not deter them from their intention. It is precisely the emphasis on environmental sustainability and the shift from carbon sources to the utilization of renewable ones that stands behind the government’s plan. Norway aims to start extracting metals from the seabed, which are crucial for the green economic transformation.

The areas that Norway intends to open up to miners are partially located in the Greenland, Norwegian, and Barents Seas, covering a total area of around 280,000 square kilometers.

However, the actual mining will take place in a smaller area of the seabed based on the results of geological surveys and licenses offered by the Norwegian government to the miners.

The Norwegian government relies on the findings of a January report from the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD), which states that the affected areas contain “significant amounts of metals and minerals” ranging from copper to rare metals.

The total estimated volume of copper is 38 million tons, which is twice the amount extracted worldwide each year.

The government’s plan still needs to be assessed by the Norwegian parliament, which will discuss the matter in the autumn of this year. Although the governing coalition does not have a majority in the legislature, it hopes to pass the plan with the support of some opposition politicians.

However, the plan is currently facing strong criticism from environmental activists who accuse the government of not sufficiently considering the environment.

“This is a new low for the Norwegian government. The country continues to explore oil deposits in the fragile Arctic environment, and now it wants to enable deep-sea mining. Norway presents itself as a green country, but in reality, it behaves exactly the opposite,” criticized Frode Pleym, the head of Greenpeace Norway.

Source: Fouche, Adomaitis – Reuters