Norway has taken a step closer to becoming the first country in the world to open up its seabed for commercial deep-sea mining after giving it the go-ahead in a highly contentious parliamentary vote on Tuesday.
The decision comes despite warnings from scientists that it could have a devastating impact on marine life, and opposition from the EU and the UK, which have called for a temporary ban on deep-sea mining because of environmental concerns.
The proposal, voted in by 80-20 by Norway’s parliament after attracting cross-party support, is expected to speed up exploration of minerals – including precious metals – that are in high demand for green technologies.
Kaja Lønne Fjærtoft, global policy lead for WWF’s No Deep Seabed Mining Initiative, said the organisation was drawing a “small glimmer of hope” from the fact that extraction licences would still need parliamentary approval, an amendment added after strong international pushback.
Steve Trent, the foundation’s chief executive and founder, said: “Deep-sea mining is a pursuit of minerals we don’t need, with environmental damage that we can’t afford.
Trent said: “We can upgrade our economies and get to zero carbon without wrecking the deep ocean in the process.” He cited new battery technologies and the potential for existing mineral supplies to be sufficient if recycling rates improved.
The original article contains 608 words, the summary contains 215 words. Saved 65%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!
This is the best summary I could come up with:
Norway has taken a step closer to becoming the first country in the world to open up its seabed for commercial deep-sea mining after giving it the go-ahead in a highly contentious parliamentary vote on Tuesday.
The decision comes despite warnings from scientists that it could have a devastating impact on marine life, and opposition from the EU and the UK, which have called for a temporary ban on deep-sea mining because of environmental concerns.
The proposal, voted in by 80-20 by Norway’s parliament after attracting cross-party support, is expected to speed up exploration of minerals – including precious metals – that are in high demand for green technologies.
Kaja Lønne Fjærtoft, global policy lead for WWF’s No Deep Seabed Mining Initiative, said the organisation was drawing a “small glimmer of hope” from the fact that extraction licences would still need parliamentary approval, an amendment added after strong international pushback.
Steve Trent, the foundation’s chief executive and founder, said: “Deep-sea mining is a pursuit of minerals we don’t need, with environmental damage that we can’t afford.
Trent said: “We can upgrade our economies and get to zero carbon without wrecking the deep ocean in the process.” He cited new battery technologies and the potential for existing mineral supplies to be sufficient if recycling rates improved.
The original article contains 608 words, the summary contains 215 words. Saved 65%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!