A small left-wing environmentalist party in Norway successfully blocked plans for deep-sea mining in the Arctic by negotiating with the government to cancel the first licensing round in exchange for their support for the national budget.
“We are halting plans to initiate mining on the seabed,” said Kirsti Bergstø, leader of the Socialist Left Party (SV), which is outside the ruling coalition but backs the minority government.
The Norwegian government, which had aimed to issue its first permits for deep-sea mining exploration in early 2025, confirmed that the initiative was paused. However, it plans to continue preparatory work, including drafting regulations and assessing environmental impacts. “This is a postponement,” Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre of the Labour Party told broadcaster TV2.
Norway, known for its wealth derived from hydrocarbon reserves, had been at the forefront of efforts to mine the ocean floor for metals critical to transitioning away from fossil fuels. Environmental groups and nations opposed the plan. “This is a crucial victory against deep-sea mining and should spell the end of this destructive industry,” said Frode Pleym, head of Greenpeace Norway.
Oslo had intended to open vast Arctic areas for its first seabed licensing round next year, despite resistance from environmental advocates and a coalition of 32 nations, including Germany, France, Canada, and Brazil.
The agreement between SV and the governing coalition, which includes the Labour Party and the agrarian Centre Party, ensures that the licensing round will not proceed. However, with Norway’s general elections approaching in September, two leading opposition parties, the Conservatives and the Progress Party, support deep-sea mining.
Official resource estimates from 2023 highlighted “significant” deposits of metals and minerals, including copper and rare earth elements. Norwegian startups like Loke (Stavanger), Green Minerals (Oslo), and Adepth (Bergen) had expressed interest in bidding for the licenses.
