Norway’s highly controversial deep sea mining projects have been put on hold and possibly halted for good, as part of state budget negotiations between the country’s Left-Center government and the Socialist Left Party (SV). The government needed SV’s support to get its budget through Parliament, and SV was keen to distinguish itself as being more environmentally minded.
The deep sea mining project, aimed at extracting sought-after minerals from the seafloor in sensitive Arctic waters, has set off huge protests both at home and internationally. Proponents contend that the minerals are needed for batteries and other new “green” industries, and claim their extraction would thus be good for the climate. Critics, however, point to the environmental damage such mining could cause for the seas, and not least Norway’s fishing industry.
Norway has also met strong opposition to the project at the EU, where a vast majority of member countries fear the environmental consequences of deep sea mining. It could make Europe and many other countries less reliant on China for the minerals needed especially for battery production, but opponents worry that the offshore impact could be as hazardous as more oil and gas exploration.
The Norwegian government has acknowledged all the criticism and promised that its deep sea mining venture would be carried out in the most careful and environmentally conscious manner as possible. SV wasn’t convinced, and was also under pressure from environmental organizations. Natur og Undom (Nature and Youth), for example, had told newspaper Klassekampen in October that SV would “no longer be seen as an environmentally friendly party” if it went along with a state budget proposal to proceed with deep sea mining projects.
“We knew that negotiations over this would be tough,” SV leader Kirsti Bergstø said at a press conference Sunday night, after it had come to terms with the government on the budget. “But they’ve been constructive and we know that the government parties (Labour and Center) have stretched themselves to win approval.”
After meetings during the weekend with Labour’s Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre and Center’s Finance Minister Trygve Slagsvold Vedum, they agreed that no mining concessions would be granted during the course of 2025. That means no companies will be allowed to search for or extract minerals on the Norwegian seafloor next year.
Asked whether it thus was merely a postponement, Bergstø conceded that “we don’t have power forever,” referring to the next national election in September 2025. Labour and Center are trailing the conservative parties, several of which support deep sea mining as a prospective new industry for Norway. If they win, they may quickly revive and allow deep sea mining projects.
Bergstø, anxious to portray her party’s influence over the budget, claimed SV had “halted plans for mining operations on the seafloor” at least for the remainder of this Parliamentary period, which ends in June. She claimed such an infringement on the seafloor “won’t see the light of day as long as SV has a hand on the wheel.”
Other budget negotiations resulted in higher carbon fees for offshore oil and gas projects, higher pension benefits for single retirees from May 1 and expanded dental care for young adults, who will be eligible for a 75 percent discount on dental services. Families with children will also get an increase in the monthly child welfare payments they receive (called barnetrygden), and there will be more funding for day care and after-school programs.
The number of UN-registered refugees coming to Norway can rise from the 200 proposed by the government to 500 (still viewed as “shamefully” low by opponents who believe Norway should take in more refugees in addition to the roughly 75,000 who have arrived from Ukraine), and SV even pushed through plans for new direct daily train service to Copehnagen and Hamburg by 2026.
There will also be some slight tax relief for those with relatively low salaries and an extra NOK 50 million in funding for the Sami Parliament, so it can better follow up a recent government report on damage done by earlier asimilation policy. The government will fund the state budget revisions by tapping more money, around NOK 17 billion, from Norway’s huge sovereign wealth fund known as the Oil Fund.
NewsinEnglish.no/Nina Berglund