A small leftwing environmentalist political party in Norway succeeded on Sunday in blocking plans to mine the sea bed at the bottom of the Arctic, by demanding the government scrap its first licensing round in return for support for the budget, APA reports citing Reuters.
"We are stopping plans to open mining on the sea bed," Kirsti Bergstoe, leader of the SV party which is outside the governing coalition but supports the minority government, told reporters.
The government, which had planned to offer its first deep-sea mining exploration permits in the first half of 2025, said that although the plan was suspended, preparatory work would continue, including creating regulations and mapping the environmental impact.
"This will be a postponement," Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere, from the Labour Party, told private broadcaster TV2.
Follow us on Telegram
t.me/apanewsaz
Follow us on Instagram
Follow us on TikTok
Follow us on Facebook
Follow us on X
UPDATED - 
