Norway is expected to become the first country in the world to open up its seabed for deep-sea mining with a highly contentious parliamentary vote on Tuesday.
The decision comes despite warnings from scientists who say it could have a devastating impact on marine life, and opposition from the EU and the UK who have called for a temporary ban on deep-sea mining because of environmental concerns.
In November, 120 EU lawmakers wrote to the Norwegian parliament urging it to abandon the project owing to “the risk of such activity to marine biodiversity and the acceleration of climate change”. They also warned that Norway’s impact assessment revealed a lack of scientific knowledge on its impact.
The proposal, expected to be voted in by Norway’s parliament at 3pm local time after attracting cross-party support, is expected to speed up exploration of in-demand minerals – including precious metals – as part of Norway’s green transition.
While the decision will initially apply to Norwegian waters, it will expose an area larger than Britain – 280,000 sq km (108,000 sq miles) – to potential mining by companies, who will be able to apply for licences to mine minerals including lithium, scandium and cobalt. It is anticipated that an agreement on deep-sea mining in international waters could follow later in the year.
The Norwegian government has said it will be careful and only issue licences after more environmental research has been done.
But the Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF) said that if Norway went ahead with the decision, it would act as “an irrevocable black mark on Norway’s reputation as a responsible ocean state”.
Steve Trent, the foundation’s CEO and founder, said: “Deep-sea mining is a pursuit of minerals we don’t need, with environmental damage that we can’t afford. We know so little about the deep ocean, but we know enough to be sure that mining it will wipe out unique wildlife, disturb the world’s largest carbon store, and do nothing to speed the transition to clean economies.”
He added: “Recent scientific studies in Norwegian waters demonstrate that there will be severe impacts on ocean wildlife if this mining goes ahead.”
A new EJF report, published on Tuesday, found that deep-sea mining was not needed for clean energy transition. It predicted that a combination of a circular economy, new technology and recycling could cut cumulative mineral demand by 58% between 2022 and 2050.
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“We can upgrade our economies and get to zero carbon without wrecking the deep ocean in the process,” said Trent, citing new battery technologies and the potential for existing mineral supplies to be sufficient if recycling rates improved.
“The argument for destroying the deep sea for cobalt and nickel does not withstand scrutiny and Norwegian lawmakers must recognise this,” he said.
The International Seabed Authority is due to meet later this year to finalise rules on deep-sea mining, with a vote on the issue expected next year.