Norway's Arctic Oil

The Norwegian government on Friday proposed an extension southwards of the so-called ice edge boundary, which marks the edge of the Arctic beyond which firms are barred from drilling for oil. But the plans stay just northerly enough to exclude areas for which licenses have already been granted — going against the advice issued by the government’s own scientists. 

Greenpeace said the government had set a “completely arbitrary and unscientific border” in order to put the interests of the oil industry ahead of the science. 

“The Norwegian government is acting like Donald Trump; ignoring scientific advice. The government is letting the Arctic and the climate down. Now the parliament must take responsibility,” Frode Pleym, the head of Greenpeace in Norway, told The Independent. Pleym said it was “high time” Norway transitioned away from fossil fuels in order to protect the climate and ultimately jobs. “Oil is rapidly becoming a part of the past and Norway’s oil exposed economy is suffering,” he said. “It is unacceptable to put the short-term interest of big oil before science, nature and people. Norway’s green credentials are at stake if this decision stands.”

Anthony Field, Arctic expert at WWF, accused the Norwegian government of choosing "oil drilling over nature".

"Oil companies are seeking to profit from the exploitation of the region’s oil reserves. But not only would general operations have a negative impact, an accident at the edge of the sea ice would be disastrous for this vitally important ecosystem because of the sensitivity of key species to oil," he said. "We want all oil companies – including British ones – to stop their exploration in this sensitive ecological region.”