The Know Daily - Tuesday 9 January 2024

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Female artists had a record year on the UK singles chart in 2023, topping the chart as solo artists or in collaboration with other musicians for 31 out of 52 weeks. This was “the most weeks spent by female artists at number one since records began in 1952”, said the BBC.

 🌊 Norway’s deep-sea mining plan  

In a controversial vote later today, Norway’s parliament is set to give the go-ahead to commercial-scale deep-sea mining. 

What’s the story? 
While the country’s parliament still needs to formally approve the plan - which is aimed at sourcing precious metals needed for green technologies - it is expected to pass “without hindrance”, said the BBC, having already secured cross-party backing.

What exactly are they looking for?
Seabeds in Norway and elsewhere are thought to contain “vast deposits” of minerals like copper and cobalt, which are needed for “electric batteries, wind turbines and other green industries”, explained the Financial Times (FT).

While these minerals are available on land, they are “concentrated in a few countries”, said the BBC. Norway’s government is also looking to “reduce reliance on China in the supply chain of many green industries”, added the FT. 

Under the plans, Norway would open up 280,000 sq km of national waters for companies to mine. 

How’s the news gone down?
Not very well. The FT described the plans as “deeply controversial”, adding that environmentalists say the consequences of seabed extraction are “unknown” but “likely to damage fragile ecosystems”. 

“Green activists, scientists, fishermen and investors” have all called on Oslo to reconsider, said Politico, with Norway’s plan also putting it “at odds” with the EU and UK, who back an international moratorium on deep-sea mining.

Norway’s government insists it will only begin issuing licences to companies once thorough environmental studies have been carried out.