Earlier this year [2023], the [Norway] government suggested opening more than 280,000 square kilometers of the country’s territorial waters to deep-sea mining. The plan has the broad backing of the four major parties, including the opposition, and is expected to pass in a final vote on January 9.
Green activists, scientists, fishermen and investors, as well as neighbors like the EU, are calling on Oslo to reconsider, pointing to a lack of scientific data about the effects of deep-sea mining on the marine environment — and to growing momentum for a global moratorium on the practice until more research is done.
The debate comes as global demand for critical raw materials like nickel, cobalt and copper is exploding thanks to the key role they play in building green technologies like electric car batteries and wind turbines.
https://www.politico.eu/article/norway-deep-sea-mining-critical-raw-materials-sustainability/
