Norway sued over the approval of deep-sea mining

It was announced on May 23 by the Norwegian branch of World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) that they had filed a lawsuit at an Oslo court against Norway’s decision to approve deep-sea mining.

Furthermore, the decision involves surveying and deep-sea exploration during the first phase, paving the way for ocean floor mining of a 280,000 km² area. This area is larger than the United Kingdom, and partially covers especially vulnerable and valuable areas of the Arctic seabed.

Approval from the Norwegian Parliament came in January, while at least two companies had expressed their interest in the exploration of specific areas by a May 21 deadline, and licensing was expected to take place in autumn.

WWF on its side is among many parties opposing this plan, mainly on the grounds that Norway's Ministry of Energy strategic impact assessment does not meet the minimum requirements set by the Subsea Minerals Act 2-2.

It is worth noting that Norway’s government-commissioned study concluded back in January that deep-sea mining would have minimal impact.

So far, 25 countries are asking for a pause, moratorium, or ban of deep-sea mining, while the European Parliament has called member states to support a moratorium, including the International Seabed Authority.