Norway: WWF sues government over deep sea mining plans
"WWF-Norway sues Norwegian government over "illegal" deep sea mining impact assessment"
WWF-Norway has taken legal action against the Norwegian government for opening areas for deep seabed mining activities. The trial starts in Oslo District Court on Thursday, November 28th. [...]
WWF believes that the Ministry of Energy's strategic impact assessment, which forms the basis of the government's decision to open areas, does not meet the minimum legal requirements under the Seabed Minerals Act, rendering the opening illegal.
As a result, WWF has taken legal action against the government. [...]
"While the European Parliament, our Nordic neighbors and a number of other countries call for a moratorium and are taking their time to gather sufficient knowledge, the government is planning to issue exploitation licenses already in the first half of 2025. Once again, they show that other priorities take precedence over knowledge-based nature management,” Andaur says.
“It's really difficult to understand why the government chooses to put both nature and Norway's international reputation on the line by continuing this irresponsible and rushed process", she concludes. [...]