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Norway's approval of deep-sea mining divides European Parliament
Norway’s controversial decision to approve commercial deep-sea mining in its waters has highlighted a left-right rift in the European Parliament.
The Nordic country – not among the EU’s 27 member states – became the first in the world to approve seabed exploitation on January 9, when its parliament voted in favour of allowing mining companies to scour 281,000 square km of its waters, an area almost the size of Italy.
The move has been rebuked by scientists and conservationists, who warn of potentially irreversible damage to marine ecosystems.
In a debate at the European Parliament in Strasbourg on Wednesday, EU lawmakers belonging to pro-climate, left-leaning groups also slammed the decision as irresponsible.
“How has this proposal been approved when 800 scientists oppose it, and when the Norwegian Environmental Agency has given a negative opinion?” César Luena, Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for the Socialists and Democrats (S&D), questioned.
“The European Union, commissioner, needs to act now,” he added, appealing to Janusz Wojciechowski, the EU’s agriculture chief, also present at the debate.
Members of the centrist, liberal Renew Europe group also decried the move as premature, calling for caution until scientific gaps are filled.
“Let us not make the same mistakes that we have already made on land in the sea,” Catherine Chabaud, MEP for Renew Europe, said.
Deep-sea mining involves excavating the ocean bed for critical materials such as copper, nickel, and cobalt found in fist-sized rocks called polymetallic nodules.
Such materials – essential for clean tech applications such as batteries for electric vehicles, semi-conductors and solar panels – are abundant on the sea bed.
With world powers looking to overcome severe shortages in current supply chains, mining the ocean bed is becoming a strategically and commercially attractive prospect for states looking to get ahead in the geopolitical race for raw materials.
In December, Brussels adopted the Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA) to reduce its reliance on China for raw materials and diversify its supply chains.
But the European Commission and Parliament are leading calls for an international moratorium on deep-sea mining until scientific gaps are filled, citing environmental concerns including damage to marine life and the disruption of fishing stocks.
The bloc also fears mining could destabilize carbon levels in the ocean and therefore reduce its ability to mitigate the rise in global temperatures.
Only seven EU member states – Spain, France, Germany, Sweden, Ireland, Finland and Portugal – have so far openly backed that call, with some member states such as Belgium preparing legislation that threatens to break ranks with the EU position.
Political right accuses left of ‘hypocrisy’
But not all lawmakers in the chamber in Strasbourg opposed Norway’s move.
Right-leaning MEPs accused their left-leaning counterparts of hypocrisy for opposing efforts by a democratic neighbour to scale up the availability of raw materials while the bloc still relies on non-democratic states for its supply.
The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where child labour, human rights violations and corruption are widely documented, is one of the African countries with whom the bloc has signed a strategic partnership.
“The truth is that we are getting our supplies currently from China, Russia and Congo for all these minerals that we need,” Tom Berendsen, MEP for the European People’s Party (EPP), said.
ADVERTISEMENT“The supply chain is unstable, and the working conditions and environmental requirements in those countries are not up to our standards. In short, if we want to continue on the path of clean energy, and we want to do that, that also means making difficult choices,” Berendsen added.
The debate highlighted an increasingly evident rift in the European Parliament between the political factions’ vision for Europe’s future industrial path. MEPs from the far-right Identity and Democracy (ID) group used the debate to call on the bloc to increasingly scale up nuclear energy.
Wojciechowski told lawmakers the Commission was “very concerned” by Norway’s decision as it potentially breached its obligations under the United Nations High Seas Treaty, the Paris Agreement and the OSPAR Convention on the protection of the marine environment in the North-East Atlantic.
Norway’s decision also raises potential territorial disputes. The proposed area for mining includes the archipelago of Svalbard in the Arctic, an area under Norwegian sovereignty but where other nations including the EU and UK have historically enjoyed equal rights to commercial activity in its waters.
According to the 1920 Svalbard Treaty, co-signing nations should have equal access in Svalbard for fishing as well as industrial, mining, and commercial operations.
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Note: Map shows the area with a shake intensity of 3 or greater, which U.S.G.S. defines as “weak,” though the earthquake may be felt outside the areas shown. The New York Times
A strong, 6.0-magnitude earthquake struck in the Gulf of California on Tuesday, according to the United States Geological Survey.
The temblor happened at 1:45 p.m. Mountain time about 47 miles southwest of El Progreso, Mexico, data from the agency shows.
As seismologists review available data, they may revise the earthquake’s reported magnitude. Additional information collected about the earthquake may also prompt U.S.G.S. scientists to update the shake-severity map.
Subsequent quakes have been reported in the same area. Such temblors are typically aftershocks caused by minor adjustments along the portion of a fault that slipped at the time of the initial earthquake.
Aftershocks detected
Quakes and aftershocks within 100 miles
Aftershocks can occur days, weeks or even years after the first earthquake. These events can be of equal or larger magnitude to the initial earthquake, and they can continue to affect already damaged locations.
The New York Times
When quakes and aftershocks occurred
Sources: United States Geological Survey (epicenter, aftershocks, shake intensity); LandScan via Oak Ridge National Laboratory (population density) | Notes: Shaking categories are based on the Modified Mercalli Intensity scale. When aftershock data is available, the corresponding maps and charts include earthquakes within 100 miles and seven days of the initial quake. All times above are Mountain time. Shake data is as of Tuesday, June 30 at 2:02 p.m. Mountain time. Aftershocks data is as of Tuesday, June 30 at 6:01 p.m. Mountain time.
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Emergency workers in Venezuela on Tuesday rescued a 2-year-old boy who had been trapped beneath the rubble for six days, marking the only reported rescue of a survivor on the sixth day of operations following last week’s devastating earthquakes.
Venezuela’s acting President Delcy Rodríguez said in a Telegram post that Jordanian emergency workers pulled the child from a collapsed building in La Guaira, an area hit the hardest by last week’s earthquakes.
The child, identified by authorities as Klieber Moran, was rescued after spending six days trapped beneath the rubble, Rodríguez said.
Moran was taken to a hospital for treatment, she added.
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A Jordanian team works to rescue a child trapped under rubble following earthquakes in Venezuela, in a location given as Caracas, Venezuela. (Jordan Public Security/Handout via REUTERS)
National Assembly President Jorge Rodríguez said in a televised address Tuesday that officials remain hopeful more survivors will be found.
“We must hold onto the hope of continuing to find people alive beneath the rubble,” Jorge said. “Early this morning, a 2-year-old boy was rescued and is currently receiving care at a health center in Caracas.”
Rescue efforts have continued since magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 earthquakes struck Venezuela’s northern coast last Wednesday.
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Emergency workers rescued a 2-year-old boy after he spent six days trapped beneath the rubble following last week’s earthquakes in Venezuela. (Jordan Public Security/Handout via REUTERS)
The death toll from the twin earthquakes rose to 1,943 on Tuesday, with more than 10,500 people injured, according to Venezuelan officials. On Monday, the death toll stood at 1,719.
Tuesday’s rescue marked another glimmer of hope amid the disaster that has devastated the South American country.
On Saturday, the U.S. State Department shared video showing American search-and-rescue teams pulling an infant alive from beneath the rubble in Venezuela.
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A child receives emergency medical attention after being rescued by a Jordanian team from under rubble following earthquakes in Venezuela. (Jordan Public Security/Handout via REUTERS)
The infant, who is 9 months old, was rescued along with her mother, the State Department told Fox News Digital. Both suffered only minor injuries, according to the rescue team.
“Against impossible odds, hope endures,” the State Department posted on X.
On Tuesday, a shipment from the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) containing 47 metric tons of humanitarian supplies arrived in Venezuela.
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Emergency workers rescued 2-year-old Klieber Moran from beneath the rubble of a collapsed building in Venezuela six days after the country’s devastating earthquakes, according to Venezuelan officials. (Jordan Public Security/Handout via REUTERS)
The shipment includes emergency health kits for urgent medical care, including supplies for safe births, newborn care, disease prevention and treatment, according to the United Nations.
Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) teams from Virginia, California and Florida were dispatched to Venezuela on Friday to help search collapsed buildings.
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According to the State Department, the three USAR teams include 312 personnel and 18 canine teams, made up of firefighters, physicians, structural engineers and canine search specialists, and deployed with more than 200,000 pounds of specialized rescue equipment.
Reuters contributed to this report.
European Union monitors say the first half of 2026 was ‘marked by sustained and exceptional ocean warmth’ and forecast more to come.
Published On 1 Jul 2026
The world’s oceans experienced their “warmest June ever observed” and could see further record-breaking highs in the months ahead as El Niño and climate change push temperatures higher, according to a new report.
The European Union’s Copernicus Marine Service said on Wednesday that “record global sea surface temperatures” of 21.0 degrees Celsius (69.8 degrees Fahrenheit) in June beat the previous records in the same month in 2023 and 2024.
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“The first six months of 2026 were characterised by persistently elevated sea-surface temperatures and widespread marine heatwaves across much of the global ocean,” the EU’s marine environment monitor said in a statement.
“Marine heatwaves expanded steadily throughout the period, ultimately affecting around 82 percent of the global ocean,” said Simon van Gennip, lead oceanographer for the Copernicus Marine Service.
“The Mediterranean, the central North Atlantic and the equatorial Pacific all emerged as hotspots, and these regional signals paint a consistent picture of an ocean under sustained thermal stress,” Van Gennip said in a statement.
The onset of a potentially powerful El Nino weather pattern could boost global heat in the oceans and atmosphere even further in 2026, and into next year, according to scientists.
“Current conditions could indicate the beginning of a new phase, leading, once more, to uncharted territory,” said Carlo Buontempo, director of the Copernicus Climate Change Service, the EU’s climate monitor.
“With ocean temperatures at these levels and El Nino on the horizon, we are likely to see more temperature records fall in the coming months,” Buontempo said in a statement.
El Nino is marked by unusually warm waters in parts of the Pacific Ocean, releasing more heat into the atmosphere and influencing wind, cloud and weather patterns around the globe. This can raise the risk of weather extremes, ranging from floods in Peru to droughts in parts of Africa and wildfires in Australia.
Land and sea temperatures reached an all-time high in 2024 at the tail end of the last El Nino, and 2026 could be among the warmest years recorded with the onset of the next El Nino this year.
The Copernicus report follows a warning issued in a major UN scientific assessment last month, which declared that the world’s oceans were in a “deepening crisis” as seas were warming and rising faster.
Oceans are a key regulator of Earth’s climate because they absorb some 90 percent of the excess heat caused by humanity’s release of greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide.
Warmer oceans increase moisture in the atmosphere, providing fuel for tropical cyclones and destructive rainfall.
Hotter seas also directly contribute to sea-level rise – water expands when it warms up – and create unbearable conditions for tropical reefs, whose corals can bleach and die during prolonged marine heatwaves.
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