Norway's push to start deep-sea mining in its territorial waters has created a major rift in the European Parliament, with lawmakers debating policy and whether to intervene.
“The truth is that we currently get the supply of all these minerals that we need from China, Russia and Congo,” said Dutch MEP Tom Berendsen of the European People's Party, who supported the policy. insisted. .
” Supply chain is unstable“And the working conditions and environmental requirements in those countries are not up to our standards,” Berendsen continued. choices. “
Norway's government last week passed a bill that would make it the first country in the world to carry out controversial commercial deep-sea mining.
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The bill primarily gives Norwegian companies the power to decide on mining opportunities within the country's territorial waters. Exploration of public waters has already occurred in some cases, but to date no country has made any meaningful effort to actually pursue suitable mining operations.
According to Sky News, the companies will use heavy machinery to scrape the nearby Arctic seafloor to extract metals and minerals such as magnesium, niobium and cobalt – essential materials for some industrial processes.
(LR) Arild Helmstad, a member of the Norwegian parliament, and French environmental activists Camille Etienne and Anne-Sophie Roux take part in a demonstration against seabed mining outside the Norwegian parliament building in Oslo, Norway, on January 9, 2024. , French actor Lucas Bravo. (Javad Parsa/NTB/AFP, Getty Images)
This process can also produce large amounts of copper and nickel, which have also proven useful in copper and nickel production. clean technology According to Euronews, car batteries, semiconductors, solar panels and more.
The decision was met with huge backlash from environmentalists and conservationists, and many in the European Parliament were troubled by the fact that the policy was passed without significant support from the scientific community.
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“Why was this proposal approved despite the opposition of 800 scientists and a negative opinion from the Norwegian Environment Agency?” César Luena, member of Spain's Social Democratic Party (S&D) asked.
Mr Luena called on the European Union, of which Norway is not a member, to “act now” to protect the seabed. European parliamentarians opposed to drilling say Norway's decision could violate its obligations under the UN Convention on the High Seas, the Paris Agreement and the OSPAR Convention on the Protection of the Marine Environment.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen spoke in January at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, eastern France, about the conclusions of the European Council on 14-15 December 2023 and the plans scheduled for 1 February 2024. Speaking at the debate on the preparations for the Extraordinary European Council. 17th, 2024. (Frédéric Florin/AFP via Getty Images)
Right-wing members of the European Parliament have accused left-wing members of “hypocrisy” of opposing efforts to continue developing resources independently from countries such as China and Russia, which remain powerful players in the energy sector.
The European Commission and Parliament called on the international community to support a moratorium on deep-sea mining until governments and the scientific community can provide better information about the processes and risks of the operations.
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In a parliamentary question tabled in March 2023, European Green Party Irish MP Grace O'Sullivan said the committee would not be able to find evidence of “environmentally friendly” underwater mining techniques and that there would be “no harmful effects” from mining. I asked him if he had a summary of the research that proved it.
Mr O'Sullivan remains one of the most ardent opponents of deep-sea mining, writing op-eds in local newspapers and calling for a moratorium on current operations, including at COP 27 when French President Emmanuel Macron called for a ban on current operations. defends all support. He remained open to continued exploration of its possibilities.
On October 11, 2023, two years after the so-called Forsen judgment regarding the Sami Forsen river wind farm, campaigners hold up several pieces of Lavous at the Karl Johans Gate intersection near the Norwegian Parliament in central Oslo, Norway. A tipi will be set up and a demonstration will be held. The peninsula was reported. In 2021, Norway's highest court, the Norwegian Supreme Court, unanimously ruled that the expropriation of land where reindeer sounds are heard and the operating permits for the construction of 151 wind turbines were invalid. However, no instructions were given on what to do with the turbines that were already in operation. Two years after the ruling, the windmill is still in operation. The Sami are an indigenous minority group of approximately 100,000 people spread across Norway, Sweden, Finland, and northern Russia who have traditionally made a living from reindeer herding and fishing. (Javad Parsa/NTB/AFP, Getty Images)
Norway's decision is part of efforts to ramp up drilling activity in the Arctic Ocean, raising concerns about territorial disputes. According to Reuters, Oslo has approved 62 offshore oil and gas exploration licenses for 24 energy companies, including state-owned Equinor.
The number of licenses and shares awarded increased by 50% compared to those awarded in 2023, while the number of companies involved in the process remained unchanged.
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The country's energy minister told the conference that the increase involved drilling permits in the Arctic Barents Sea and the adjacent Norwegian Sea.
Energy Minister Terje Asland said: “Last year I called on companies to consider the opportunities in the Barents Sea more carefully. This award is an opportunity for more companies to respond positively and take responsibility. It shows that there is.”
Reuters contributed to this report.
