Norwegian government sued by WWF for pre-approval of deep-sea mining

Environmental organizations are not afraid to intervene at the highest level of economic strategies. In May of this year, the Norwegian government was sued by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) over its controversial decision to open the Arctic waters of the Atlantic to deep-sea mining. According to environmentalists, this action is not only unlawful, but above all potentially disastrous in its consequences.

What is deep-sea mining?

Deep Sea Mining (DMS, for Deep Sea) is a potential industry to deal with the commercial extraction of economically important minerals from the seabed at depths of more than 200 meters. No country in the world has yet begun this type of work, but some are taking preliminary steps in preparation. Norway is the first country to take a concrete step in this direction.

Deep mining technology is still being developed and relies heavily on robotics and artificial intelligence. The first stage is the exploration of deposits, the second is the exploration of their potential, and the third is the extraction itself. The latter is to be carried out using remotely operated vehicles that will collect so-called “drones” from the seabed. polymetallic concretions, or mineral-rich nuggets, and send them to the surface for further processing.

Economic potential associated with deep-sea mining

The world today is trying to halt climate change by investing in renewable energy sources and minimizing greenhouse gas emissions. However, in order to produce the wind turbines and photovoltaic panels, as well as the batteries needed to store the extracted energy, we need large amounts of metals such as manganese, cobalt, nickel, copper, lithium and zinc. Their onshore resources are dwindling at an alarming rate, putting further energy transition in question.

An example of a green technology bottleneck is cobalt. According to the International Energy Agency, as early as 2030. land deposits of the mineral will not be able to meet global demand. To make matters worse, as much as 70 percent of the world’s cobalt production today comes from the Democratic Republic of Congo, where the mining process is carried out in gross violation of human rights.

The bottom of the oceans, meanwhile, hides a wealth of minerals found in three different forms:

• polymetallic concretions, containing cobalt, nickel, copper, molybdenum, yttrium and rare earth metals valuable for technological development;
• Polymetallic sulfides, composed mainly of copper, nickel, cobalt and manganese;
• sediments deposited on the surfaces of underwater rocks, rich in cobalt, tellurium, copper, nickel, platinum, tungsten and rare earth metals.

This wealth can become a driving force for further technological development, if only the technical problems of mining it at a depth of several kilometers can be overcome, as well as institutional and environmental difficulties.

The International Seabed Authority (ISA) was established to control raw materials resting in waters that do not belong to any country. By May 2022. It has issued 33 permits for the exploration of more than 1.5 million square ^kilometers of undersea area. Regulations are currently being developed to enable this process to be carried out without conflict. Commercial deepwater mining in international waters is expected to begin in 2026.

Incidentally, it is worth mentioning that Poland is a member of the Interoceanmetal consortium, which aims to mine polymetallic nodules located in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone (CCZ) in the northeastern Pacific Ocean. Preliminary studies show that this zone has an exceptionally high concentration of concretions – more than 10 ^kg/m2.

Norwegian government sued for initiating action

In addition to ISA-issued licenses, each government can independently authorize the exploration and extraction of minerals from the seabed that lies within a country’s territorial waters. Norway was the first to decide to exercise this option, designating an exploitation zone with an area of 281 thousand. ^km2, located in the Barents and Greenland Seas. According to government experts, the potential value of extractable minerals is a staggering $94 billion.

The Norwegian government’s decision was met with widespread international opposition. On February 7 this year. The European Parliament voted to oppose the issue, highlighting the moratorium on deep-sea mining previously adopted by the EU. Norway may not be a member of the Union, but the EU’s commissioner for the EU is. Agriculture Minister Janusz Wojciechowski stressed that decisions affecting the environment go beyond the reach of national borders. Norway’s neighboring Sweden, Finland and Denmark have temporarily suspended deep-sea mining operations. According to the European majority, it is necessary to wait for the results of studies determining the risks to which marine ecosystems may be exposed.

The Norwegian government has also been criticized by many national organizations. The Norwegian branch of the WWF has decided to file a lawsuit against him in court. The main allegation is that Norwegian law is being violated in an effort to support a potentially destructive industry without carefully assessing the consequences. In April this year. The government of Jonas Gahr Støre was warned that the case could be taken to court, but in view of the failure to withdraw from the mining plans, the WWF filed a corresponding application in May. The internal dissenting voices were joined by the Norwegian Environmental Agency, stressing that there is no legal or scientific basis for launching seabed mining operations.

Astrid Bergmål, state secretary at the Norwegian Ministry of Energy, commented on the lawsuit: We believe that we have carried out a comprehensive process with broad commitment, complying with all relevant requirements. If WWF wants to try its hand in court, it has the right to do so. In doing so, the government maintains that deep-sea mining is key to the continued development of green energy, including the electric car market.

Does deep-sea mining threaten the environment?

Opposition to the Norwegian decision is linked to concerns about the environmental impact of deep-sea mining. This is because machines moving along the bottom will collect a large layer of sediment that has accumulated there, potentially disrupting the living conditions of many organisms.

However, there is a lack of detailed studies that speak to the extent of the risks associated with deep-sea mining. According to researchers, up to 80 percent of The oceans remain unexplored, and we know particularly little about life at their bottom. Mining, on the other hand, can involve drilling and digging, physically destroying habitat, reducing food sources for many marine species, and emitting pollutants. Noise and vibration from mining and columnar sediment plumes traveling up and down can also have a destructive effect on underwater life. Meanwhile, ecosystems located at depths of 200 to 5,000 meters hide up to 90 percent of the global biosphere, with quantities of fish 100 times the annual global catch.

The president of the Norwegian WWF, Karoline Andauer, noted that while other countries are advocating a moratorium in order to gain time to get the necessary information on potential threats and ensure proper protection of the marine environment, the Norwegian Directorate of Environmental Protection is not in favor of a moratorium. Offshore has invited industry to apply for mining licenses. This approach is arrogant and cynical and damages Norway’s reputation as a responsible guardian of the oceans, Andauer added.

Zdj. główne: Benoît Deschasaux/Unsplash