Portugal’s parliament has approved the drafting of a moratorium on deep sea mining in territorial waters to 2050. On January 30th, the Portuguese parliament debated a moratorium on deep sea mining until 2050, with four parties presenting bills.
On January 31st, lawmakers adopted in first reading several texts from various parties, including the ruling group and the opposition, which they will now attempt to unify to create a law that will eventually be submitted to parliament for a vote. If adopted, Portugal would become the first European country to write into law a ban on deep sea mining until there is more scientific data.
As essential components for batteries for electric vehicles, demands for deep sea minerals have dramatically increased over the last decade and the seabed around Portugal’s autonomous Azores archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean is thought to be rich in manganese, cobalt and nickel.
However, around 30 countries have called for a moratorium on deep sea mining, due to our lack of understanding of deep sea ecosystems and the cost benefit ratio of pursuing deep sea mining. As recently as 2024 scientists discovered “dark” oxygen, a completely novel oxygen production pathway, made by the same lumps of metal the deep sea mining industry wants to extract. Norway suspended planned deep sea mining of an area larger than the UK in December 2024, following pressure from the Socialist Left Party.