"Norway's Controversial Move: Embracing Deep-Sea Mining to Challenge Rare Earths Dominance"
Norway's parliament has voted to approve deep-sea mining in a move to break China and Russia's rare earths dominance, despite warnings from scientists and environmental groups about the unknown environmental impacts. The decision puts Norway at odds with the U.K. and the European Commission, who have called for a temporary ban on deep-sea mining due to environmental concerns. Norway's government defends the decision, stating that it is necessary to explore sustainable ways to collect essential metals for the global transition away from fossil fuels, but critics argue that deep-sea mining will have vast negative impacts on marine life and the planet's health.