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Deep-Sea Mining: Sailing towards a Sustainable Industry or Business-as-Usual? - A thematic analysis of the decision to enable commercial seabed mineral activities in the Norwegian continental shelf

Summ, Katharina LU (2024) HEKM51 20241
Department of Human Geography
Human Ecology
Abstract
In the time of an increasing climate crisis, governments are faced with finding feasible solutions to environmental challenges. One such solution is the shift away from fossil fuels towards renewable also known as green technologies – a green transition. Renewable technologies demand vast amounts of minerals for their production which cannot be met by land mining alone. As a response to this increasing demand, the Norwegian parliament decided to open up the Norwegian continental shelf for deep-sea mineral explorations as the first country in the world in January 2024. The extent and consequences of potential deep-sea mineral activities are still unknown and the practice and is criticized by scholars and activists. This thesis investigates... (More)
In the time of an increasing climate crisis, governments are faced with finding feasible solutions to environmental challenges. One such solution is the shift away from fossil fuels towards renewable also known as green technologies – a green transition. Renewable technologies demand vast amounts of minerals for their production which cannot be met by land mining alone. As a response to this increasing demand, the Norwegian parliament decided to open up the Norwegian continental shelf for deep-sea mineral explorations as the first country in the world in January 2024. The extent and consequences of potential deep-sea mineral activities are still unknown and the practice and is criticized by scholars and activists. This thesis investigates the Norwegian parliamentary decision on basis of governmental documents and interviews to find out on which decision-making basis Norway decided to enable explorations for potential commercial deep-sea mineral activities. In order to do so, this thesis takes the Norwegian history on environmental politics and Norway’s fossil fuel industry into account. Norway has managed to build up the image of a sustainable nation while still continuing to rely on its fossil fuel economy. Findings show that deep-sea mining has majorly economic aspirations weaving sustainability as an argument for the decision’s legitimization. The decision has been made even though consequences of DSM have a yet unknown environmental extent. The decision is therefore likely to be another continuation of neoliberal capitalism. (Less)
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author
Summ, Katharina LU
supervisor
organization
course
HEKM51 20241
year
type
H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
subject
keywords
Deep-Sea Mining (DSM), Seabed-Mining, Norway, Norwegian Environmental Politics, Thematic Analysis, Ocean Governance, Blue Economy, Green Transition, Sustainable Development, Political Decision-Making, Critical Analysis
language
English
id
9171845
date added to LUP
2024-09-12 08:50:32
date last changed
2024-09-12 08:50:32
@misc{9171845,
  abstract     = {{In the time of an increasing climate crisis, governments are faced with finding feasible solutions to environmental challenges. One such solution is the shift away from fossil fuels towards renewable also known as green technologies – a green transition. Renewable technologies demand vast amounts of minerals for their production which cannot be met by land mining alone. As a response to this increasing demand, the Norwegian parliament decided to open up the Norwegian continental shelf for deep-sea mineral explorations as the first country in the world in January 2024. The extent and consequences of potential deep-sea mineral activities are still unknown and the practice and is criticized by scholars and activists. This thesis investigates the Norwegian parliamentary decision on basis of governmental documents and interviews to find out on which decision-making basis Norway decided to enable explorations for potential commercial deep-sea mineral activities. In order to do so, this thesis takes the Norwegian history on environmental politics and Norway’s fossil fuel industry into account. Norway has managed to build up the image of a sustainable nation while still continuing to rely on its fossil fuel economy. Findings show that deep-sea mining has majorly economic aspirations weaving sustainability as an argument for the decision’s legitimization. The decision has been made even though consequences of DSM have a yet unknown environmental extent. The decision is therefore likely to be another continuation of neoliberal capitalism.}},
  author       = {{Summ, Katharina}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Deep-Sea Mining: Sailing towards a Sustainable Industry or Business-as-Usual? - A thematic analysis of the decision to enable commercial seabed mineral activities in the Norwegian continental shelf}},
  year         = {{2024}},
}