Norway supports deep-sea mining in the Arctic Ocean

Norway has secured a parliamentary majority for plans to open the Arctic Ocean to seabed mineral exploration, despite warnings from environmental groups and the fishing industry that the move would threaten the biodiversity of vulnerable ecosystems.

The country's minority centre-left government and two major opposition parties backed on Tuesday a government proposal announced in June to position the country as a leader in commercial-scale deep-sea mining.

The move by the European country, whose vast oil and gas reserves have made it one of the world's richest countries, aims to diversify its economy away from fossil fuels.

“The renewable green industry runs on minerals. This is an important contribution at the international level,” Bård Ludwig Thorheim, a lawmaker from the main opposition conservatives, said in a statement.

The reaction to this announcement was almost immediate. Greenpeace Norway chief Frode Plaim said the decision was a "disaster for the sea" and mining would take place in "our last wilderness."

"We don't know what consequences this will have for marine ecosystems, for endangered species such as whales and seabirds, or for the fish stocks on which we depend for our livelihoods," he said.

Caroline Andaur, executive director of wildlife group WWF Norway, said the decision was "the biggest disgrace in Norway's ocean management in modern times and the final nail in the coffin of Norway's reputation as a responsible maritime nation."