UN experts commend Norway’s decision to postpone deep-sea mining licences
Geneva, 15 December 2025 – United Nations human rights experts have welcomed Norway’s decision to suspend the issuance of deep-sea mining licences until at least the end of 2029, describing it as a significant advance for ocean protection, climate stability and the safeguarding of human rights.
The decision, endorsed by the Norwegian Parliament, also includes a commitment to withhold all public funding for deep-sea mining activities during this period. It represents a major shift from the government’s earlier plans to begin issuing licences for seabed mineral extraction in 2026, a move that had raised concerns among scientists, Indigenous Peoples, environmental organisations and human rights advocates.
In a joint statement, the UN experts underlined the exceptional ecological importance of the deep sea. “The deep sea is one of the least explored and most fragile ecosystems on Earth,” they said. “It hosts unique biodiversity, is the world’s largest carbon sink, and plays a fundamental role in maintaining the planet’s ecological balance.”
Beyond its environmental value, the experts stressed the deep connections between ocean health and human rights. Many Indigenous Peoples and coastal communities depend on marine ecosystems for food security, livelihoods and traditional medicine. The ocean also holds profound cultural significance, underpinning identities, traditions, spiritual practices and cultural heritage that have been passed down for generations.
While the suspension is temporary, the experts described it as a vital precautionary measure. “Preserving deep-sea integrity is essential not only for biodiversity and climate stability, but also for the enjoyment of all human rights,” they said, explicitly referencing the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment and the protection of cultural rights.
The experts warned that deep-sea mining poses serious environmental risks. Mining operations could disturb vast areas of the seabed, destroy habitats that may take centuries or millennia to recover, and release large amounts of carbon currently stored in deep-ocean sediments. Such disruptions could undermine the ocean’s natural capacity to sequester carbon and regulate the climate.
They also noted that deep-sea mining is highly energy-intensive and would contribute additional greenhouse gas emissions at a time when the global climate system is already under severe stress. “These impacts would compound the climate crisis rather than help resolve it,” the experts cautioned.
Norway’s decision, they said, aligns with the precautionary principle, a cornerstone of international environmental law. This principle requires States to act to prevent serious or irreversible harm even in the absence of full scientific certainty. The experts pointed to recent advisory opinions by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS), which reaffirm States’ legal obligations to protect the marine environment and the climate system.
“A precautionary pause is necessary,” the experts said, emphasising that scientific evidence increasingly points to the potentially irreversible harm caused by deep-sea mining, alongside major uncertainties about the effectiveness of mitigation measures. These risks extend beyond environmental damage to include harm to cultural practices, traditional knowledge systems and the ability of communities to participate in cultural life and transmit their heritage to future generations.
The UN experts added that Norway’s decision reinforces an emerging international consensus in favour of pausing deep-sea mining. Around 40 States have now expressed support for a moratorium or precautionary pause, reflecting growing recognition that the environmental, climatic and human rights risks outweigh the promised economic benefits of seabed mineral extraction.
“As pressure for deep-sea extraction increases, States must ensure that their decisions are guided not by short-term resource interests but by their binding obligations under international law,” the experts said. “This includes the duty to protect the marine environment, prevent harm, and uphold human rights.”
They concluded by stressing that protecting the ocean is inseparable from protecting people. This includes safeguarding the rights of Indigenous Peoples and coastal communities whose livelihoods, cultures and identities depend on healthy marine ecosystems, as well as ensuring everyone’s human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment.
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