Environmental organizations welcome the decision.
Deep-sea mining in Norwegian waters will remain suspended until at least 2029, according to AFP. The minority government led by the Social Democrats has reached an agreement with the opposition that no licenses for deep-sea mining or related exploratory activities will be issued during the current legislative period.
In January 2024, an area in the North Atlantic was designated for this type of resource extraction, but no licenses were issued. In December of the same year, the granting of licenses was officially put on hold.
Environmental organizations such as Greenpeace have welcomed the decision. The Norwegian Fishermen’s Association highlighted the lack of knowledge regarding the environmental impacts. Many countries have already called for a moratorium for the same reason. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre emphasized to Reuters that the suspension of license issuance should be seen as a temporary delay rather than a permanent halt.
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