According to a study by the Environmental Justice Foundation published on the day of the vote, deep-sea mining is not needed for the clean energy transition.
ADVERTISEMENTNorway has become the first country in the world to greenlight the controversial practice of deep-sea mining.
A bill passed in the Norwegian Parliament on Tuesday (9 January) will accelerate the undersea hunt for minerals needed to build green technology such as batteries for electric vehicles. It authorises opening up parts of the country's sea to mining exploration.
Around 280,000 square metres of the country’s national waters could gradually be opened up - an area nearly the size of Italy located in the Arctic between Svalbard, Greenland and Iceland.
The Norwegian government has said it is being cautious and is unlikely to approve licences to extract minerals from the sea bed any time soon.
“We're now going to see if this can be done in a sustainable manner,” energy minister Terje Aasland told parliament.
But this hasn’t stopped widespread warnings from scientists and environmental experts that the plans could devastate marine life and impact carbon stored in the ocean. They say far more research is needed to understand the real impact before any deep-sea mining takes place.
What lies at the bottom of the sea?
Deep on the seafloor are small rocks the size of potatoes known as nodules, and metal crusts along hydrothermal vents and underwater mountains that contain minerals essential for green technologies like cobalt and zinc.
Though vital in the manufacture of objects like batteries or solar panels, mining current sources on land often comes with risky supply chains and unethical practices.
In the Democratic Republic of Congo, for example, a recent investigation from Amnesty International and the DRC-based Initiative for Good Governance and Human Rights found that mining minerals used in green tech had led to human rights abuses, including forced evictions and physical assault.
In December, Norwegian MP Marianne Sivertsen Naess told a press conference that the minerals were needed because the country wanted to “lead a green transition in the form of fuel cells and solar panels, of electric cars and mobile phones”.
Exploiting these resources found on the seabed and essential for renewable energy technology could make the country a major mineral producer. It could also help it move away from the oil and gas industry while securing a supply of minerals inside Europe.
Companies that are pushing for deep-sea mining have argued that it will be cheaper and have less of an environmental impact than mining on land.
Why is deep-sea mining so controversial?
Activists and environmental groups gathered outside the Norwegian parliament on Tuesday to protest as the vote was passed.
They say the country is pressing ahead with the plan to open Arctic waters to mining companies despite massive criticism from fishery organisations, scientists and even the wider international community.
“The deep sea is the world's largest carbon reservoir and our last untouched wilderness, with unique wildlife and important habitats that do not exist anywhere else on Earth,” Kaja Lønne Fjærtoft, Global Policy Lead for WWF’s No Deep Seabed Mining Initiative said.
“The parliament’s decision to move forward with seabed mining against all expert advice, with an impact assessment that has been widely criticised, is a catastrophe for the ocean, and leaves a big stain on Norway's reputation as a responsible ocean nation.”
More than 800 marine scientists and policy experts from 44 countries have called for a pause on deep-sea mining plans which they say could lead to “irreversible damage” to biodiversity and ecosystems. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature has said mining could flood the sea floor with light and noise pollution and damage the habitats of species that rely on the potato-sized nodules.
A study published in November hinted at the dangers. Scientists on a ship in Norway’s fjords exposed jellyfish to conditions they could face in the open ocean from mining. They didn’t cope well as they tried to rid themselves of the sediment produced by the researchers' simulation. Species like these, the study points out, are vital to the biological cycles that keep stores of carbon deep in the ocean.
ADVERTISEMENTNorway’s own experts have criticised the mining plans too. The government has applied findings from a small area of research to the whole area it will open up to drilling, the Norway Institute of Marine Research (IMR) says, estimating that five to 10 years of research are needed to discover its true impacts.
Do we need deep-sea mining for the green transition?
It isn’t just scientists, activists and marine experts that have concerns either - Norway’s plans for deep sea mining have come up against international criticism.
Norway’s neighbours, the EU and the UK, have both called for a temporary ban on the practice over environmental concerns. 120 EU lawmakers wrote an open letter to the Norwegian Parliament in November, asking them not to back the project.
“The green transition cannot be used as a justification for harming biodiversity and the world’s largest national carbon sink, especially since alternatives exist,” they wrote. The lawmakers argue that recycling and reusing the minerals that can be found in electronic waste is a better source of materials.
According to a report by the Environmental Justice Foundation published on the day of the vote, deep-sea mining is not needed for the clean energy transition. It predicts that a combination of new technology, a circular economy and recycling could cut demand for minerals by 58 per cent between 2022 and 2050.
ADVERTISEMENT“Deep-sea mining is a pursuit of minerals we don’t need, with environmental damage that we can’t afford,” the foundation's CEO and founder Steve Trent said.
“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.”
Could international waters be opened up to deep-sea mining?
The EU parliamentarians' letter also warned of another potential danger.
By becoming the first country in the world to allow the exploration and extraction of deep sea minerals, Norway would be setting a precedent in the ongoing negotiations to open up international waters to deep-sea mining.
“We cannot take the risk to precipitate the opening of all the world’s oceans to the mining industry,” they wrote.
ADVERTISEMENTMore than 30 countries including the UK and EU are in favour of a temporary ban but others such as China and Japan are keen for an agreement to mine in international waters.
The next meeting of the International Seabed Authority (ISA) is due to take place later this year where negotiations to finalise rules on deep sea mining in international waters will continue. It remains to be seen how the precedent set by Norway could impact wider global attitudes.
