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EU parliament expresses disapproval of Norway’s deep-sea mining plans

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The European Parliament has voted in favor of a resolution that raises concerns about Norway’s deep-sea mining intentions in Arctic waters. While the resolution itself doesn’t carry any legal power to stop Norway, experts say it sends a “strong signal” that the European Union — which Norway is not a part of, but is a close partner to — doesn’t support its plans. The resolution presented a litany of issues related to Norway’s deep-sea mining plans, including the possibility that extracting minerals from the Arctic seabed could disrupt fisheries, release methane stored in sub-glacial ecosystems and Arctic permafrost soils, and lead to a general loss in biodiversity and the functioning of marine ecosystems. It also noted that seven EU states, several international companies and organizations like the IUCN have called for a moratorium, a precautionary pause, or ban on deep-seabed mining. The resolution also stated that Norway’s own Environment Agency raised concerns with the Norwegian government’s environmental impact assessment containing “significant knowledge gaps on nature, technology and the potential environmental effects” for proposed its mineral extraction activities. The motion for this resolution received overwhelming support, with 523 members of the European Parliament voting in favor of it during a parliamentary session that took place in Strasbourg, France, on Feb. 7. Only 34 members voted against the resolution, and 59 abstained from voting. Catherine Chabaud, a French member of the European Parliament, whose political group, Renew Europe Group, supported this resolution, said the vote indicates a “strong position of the parliament.”…This article was originally published on Mongabay

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