Azernews.Az

The protest rally against deep-sea mining and whale hunting was held in the COP29 Green Zone, Azernews reports.

According to information, the protest was orchestrated by the FINS Initiative (International Protection of Marine Species) with the backing of international organizations, activists, and specialists from several nations.

The participants raised a red flag over the Norwegian government's plans to cash in on natural resources in its marine territories by handing out licenses to local companies for deep-sea mining.

“We are here to protest whale hunting. This is still happening in several countries around the world. Three countries continue to engage in commercial whaling: Iceland, Japan, and Norway. We want to draw attention to the fact that this is still happening around the world and call on COP29 participants to take action to end commercial whaling. This must stop in 2024,” said FINS Initiative representative Elissa May Phillips.

Another FINS representative, Maxwell Rhys Hon, also stated that several countries are still in the thick of commercial whale hunting.

“We are here to try to influence the situation, to make it better known, and to draw the attention of COP29 participants to the fact that this continues to happen,” he said.

To note, the Norwegian government's decision has sparked a widespread public outcry, with a host of scientists from different countries urging a halt to the work until scientific studies that could assess the possible impacts are completed. The area earmarked for mining is comparable to the UK and could have an impact on marine ecosystems beyond Norwegian waters.

The protesters urge the Norwegian government to heed the over 800 foreign scientists who have endorsed a petition against the initiation of mining in Norwegian waters and to reassess their plans. Furthermore, they are urging Norway to cease whale hunting, which is regrettably both authorized and state-subsidized. Whale shooting quotas have escalated, rising over 15 percent this year relative to 2023, with the majority of the meat allocated for pet food production.

The campaigners are urging the international community to support their appeal to the Norwegian government and hope that the Norwegian people will pressure their leaders to protect unique marine ecosystems and stop whale hunting.