Norway has suspended its controversial project to open the seabed for commercial-scale deep-sea mining.
Oslo planned to allow companies to exploit 280,000 square kilometers (108,000 square miles) of its waters for precious metals – an area larger than the size of Britain.
The move was blocked after the country’s Socialist Left Party said it would not support the government’s budget unless it scrapped the first round of licensing, scheduled for 2025.
Environmental scientists had warned the move could be catastrophic for marine life, while 32 countries including France, Canada, Brazil and Germany opposed the plans.
Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoer called Sunday’s development a “delay” and said preparatory work on regulations and environmental impact would continue.
Greenpeace-Norway Haldis Tjeldflaat Helle said the pause was “a huge victory”.
“It was really shameful to see how Norway positioned itself as an ocean leader while planning to greenlight the destruction of the oceans in its own waters.”
The country’s Ministry of Energy has not yet commented.
Norway became the first country in the world to move forward with deep-sea mining on a commercial scale when it approved the plans in January.
The deep sea is home to minerals such as lithium, scandium and cobalt – which are crucial for green technologies.
Although the metals are available on land, they are concentrated in a small number of countries, increasing the risk to supplies.
Oslo said it did not want to rely on China for such materials, stressing that it would only start issuing licenses once environmental studies were completed again.
The move put Norway at odds with the EU and Britain, which have called for a temporary ban on the practice over concerns about environmental damage.
More than a hundred EU lawmakers called on Oslo to reject the project, citing the risk “to marine biodiversity and the acceleration of climate change.”
The country’s Institute of Marine Research criticized the government’s research into the environmental impact, saying another five to 10 years of work was needed.
The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Norway said in a statement last week that it is suing the government over the plans.
At least three Norwegian seabed minerals startups had said they would bid in the first licensing round.
On Monday, one of the startups – Green Minerals – said it expected a delay of up to a year after the suspension of plans.
