Seabed Mining Governance in the Green Energy Transition at the Nexus Between Science - Law and Policy

Funded by the Green Societies Network (AAU) the project Justice, Equity and Fairness in Seabed Mining in the North invites you to an open Panel Discussion Event. Hosted by Florian Vidal from UiT the Arctic University of Norway, Department of Social Sciences, together with the Center for Geopolitics (GEOPOL) and Sandra Cassotta from Aalborg University Department of Law (AAU), an interdisciplinary workshop on the topic of Seabed Mining Governance in the Green Energy Transition will be held on December 4, 2024 (9:00-12:30) at UiT and online.

The Panels will discuss how to design a roadmap for regional forums of cooperation and international organizations that will be responsible for harmonizing coastal states’ procedures for environmental management of Seabed Mining and Climate Change.

The Panel dialogues will prepare the terms for an initial dialogue among stakeholders and deliver actionable ways to reach management standards outside existing methods.

The panels will debate the common governance challenges between Seabed Mining within and outside coastal state jurisdiction, focusing on direct and indirect effects on the marine ecosystem, climate, and the status of governance frameworks to the intersection between science, law, and policy. The discussion will encompass not only environmental but also social dimensions including how societies view this “new frontier activity”. The attention will be on both exploration and exploitation with particular emphasis on Norway.

Program

9:00-9:15: Opening remarks (Host and co-host)

9:15-10:45: Panel "Exploring New Frontiers: Law, Policy, Anthropology & Science in Deep Seabed Mining Governance"

• Florian Vidal (ISV, UiT) - "Norway's energy journey: The Victorian trap?"
• Nelson F. Coelho (Aalborg University) - "What is the 'Problem' with Seabed Mining? Insights from a PBL Experiment with Life Science Students"
• Freja Klarasdatter Thorsen (Aalborg University) - "Deep-sea mining in Norway as a social space characterized by conflict, controversy, and ambiguity"
• Roberta Ivaldi (Italian Hydrographic Institute) - "Undersea Feature Names of the Arctic Ocean in the UN Ocean Science Decade for Sustainable Development"
• Alberto Pecoraro (Maqsut Narikbayev University) - "National Public Law and the Common Heritage of Humankind: Judicial Review, and the Governance of Deep-Seabed Mining in the International Seabed"
• Moderator: Sandra Cassotta (Aalborg University)

10:45-11:00: Break

11:00-12:30: Panel "Deep Seabed Mining Governance under the Anthropocene Epoch"

• Maria Madelena Afonso Rolhas Fernandes Das Neves (NCLOS, UiT) - "The (in)validity of Norway's decision to open the NCS to seabed mining"
• Marco Dordoni (University of Perugia) - "NATO’s attention to Critical Underwater Infrastructure and surveillance in the seabed domain"
• Krittika Singh (Arctic Center, University of Lapland) - "Moratorium for seabed mining: could it be still on the table?"
• Berit Kristoffersen (ISV, UiT) - "From oil and gas to deep sea mining: ‘Workable’ Arctic Frontiers"
• Moderator: Nelson F. Coelho (Aalborg University)

For online access to the workshop, here is the login link on Teams