Greenland suspends oil exploration because of climate change
Greenland suspends oil exploration because of climate change
The government of Greenland has suspended all oil exploration off the world’s largest island, calling it is “a natural step” because it “takes the climate crisis seriously”.
No oil has been found yet around Greenland, but officials there had seen potentially vast reserves as a way to help Greenlanders realise their long-held dream of independence from Denmark by cutting the annual subsidy of 3.4 billion kroner (£390 million) the territory receives.
Global warming means retreating ice could uncover potential oil and mineral resources which could dramatically change the fortunes of the semi-autonomous territory of 57,000 people.
“The future does not lie in oil. The future belongs to renewable energy, and in that respect we have much more to gain,” the Greenland government said in a statement, adding that it “wants to take co-responsibility for combating the global climate crisis”.
The decision was made on June 24 but was made public on Thursday.
The US Geological Survey estimates there could be 17.5 billion undiscovered barrels of oil and 148 trillion cubic feet of natural gas off Greenland, although the island’s remote location and harsh weather have limited exploration.
The current government has been led by the Inuit Ataqatigiit party since April’s parliamentary election, and it immediately began to deliver on election promises and stopped plans for uranium mining in southern Greenland.
Greenland still has four active hydrocarbon exploration licences, which it is obliged to maintain as long as the licensees are actively exploring. They are held by two small companies.
The government’s decision to stop oil exploration was welcomed by environmental group Greenpeace, which called the decision ”fantastic”.
“And my understanding is that the licences that are left have very limited potential,” said Mads Flarup Christensen, Greenpeace Nordic’s general secretary.
Denmark decides foreign, defence and security policy, and supports Greenland with the annual grant that accounts for about two-thirds of the Arctic island’s economy.
Articles - Latest
- THE MOON IS 40 MILLION YEARS OLDER — EXPLAINED
- BARBARA O.JONES DEAD AT 82: ACTRESS WHO STARRED ALONGSIDE MUHAMMAD ALI IN TV SERIES, HAS PASSED AWAY
- SIR CHIPS KESWICK, SCION OF THE JARDINE MATHESON DYNASTY WHO CHAIRED HAMBROS AND ARSENAL – OBITUARY
- NORMAN JEWISON OBITUARY
- TED TOLEMAN OBITUARY
- NASA FINDS MUTANT BACTERIA ON ISS THAT DOESN'T EXIST ON EARTH
- KENYA’S MILITARY CHIEF DIES IN HELICOPTER CRASH
- TERRY ANDERSON, US JOURNALIST HELD HOSTAGE NEARLY 7 YEARS IN LEBANON, DEAD AT 76
- SCIENTISTS DISCOVER 'ORIGIN STORY' OF GREAT SPHINX OF GIZA
- SIR ANDREW DAVIS OBITUARY
- CHINESE WOMAN POSING FOR PHOTO DIES AFTER FALL FROM EDGE OF CRATER ON INDONESIAN VOLCANO
- DROWNING OF WEALTHY HEIRESS WAS ‘ACQUISITIVE KILLING’, COURT HEARS
- Singer Mandisa dead at 47
- GOLF CHANNEL ‘BIG BREAK’ CO-HOST STEPHANIE SPARKS DIES AT AGE 50
- EVERYTHING WE KNOW ABOUT THE POTENTIAL DISCOVERY AMELIA EARHART’S LONG-LOST PLANE
- Eleanor Coppola, ‘Hearts of Darkness’ director, dies at 87
- CARL ERSKINE, DODGERS LEGEND AND HUMAN RIGHTS ICON, DIES: 'THE BEST GUY I'VE EVER KNOWN'
- RESTLESS NATIVES AND STILL GAME ACTOR DIES AGED 64
- WATCH MOMENT EARTHQUAKE ROCKS UN SECURITY COUNCIL MEETING IN NEW YORK
- MOUNT VESUVIUS WARNING AS VOLCANO 'COULD ERUPT SOON' WITH HALF A MILLION IN 'DANGER ZONE'
- CLARENCE ‘FROGMAN’ HENRY, R’N’B SINGER AND PIANIST WHO TOURED WITH THE BEATLES – OBITUARY
- SECRET OCEANS COULD BE HIDING IN OUR SOLAR SYSTEM
- SACRED MYSTERIES: WHEN WILLIAM BYRD PUBLISHED WORKS PERFORMED IN SECRET Opinion by Christopher Howse: The Telegraph
Articles - Most Read
- Main
- Contact Us
- The science behind Ouija boards
- Cosmic Consciousness - What is Cosmic Consciousness-2
- Cosmic Consciousness-Introduction
- Cosmic Consciousness - Introduction-2
- MASSIVE 6.1 MAGNITUDE EARTHQUAKE HITS NEW ZEALAND AS NATION STILL REELING FROM CYCLONE
- ARCHAEOLOGISTS UNRAVEL THE TRUTH OF APHRODITE, GODDESS OF LOVE, ON VALENTINE'S DAY
- The Human Condition-Thomas Keating
- Cosmic Consciousness First Words - 1V - 2
- Cosmic Consciousness First Words - V -
- Cosmic Consciousness V - 2
- Cosmic consciousness - First Words - IV
- Cosmic Consciousness - What is Cosmic Consciousness?
- Evolution and Devolution-Chapter 2
- The Human Condition - Thomas keating-3
- The Human Condition-2-Thomas Keating
- Drinking From The Mountain Stream - Milarepa
- Cosmic Consciousness-On the Plane of Self Consciousness
- The Human Condition - 4
- Cosmic Consciousness - 3 - On the Plane of Self Consciousness
- Evolution and Devolution-Chapter 1
- The Human Condition - 6
- Shakyamuni Buddha or India the 1st “Black Revolutionary Hero.”
- On the Plane of Self Consciousness - 2
- Milarepa's World
- The Human Condition - 5
- Milarepa's World-2
- The Buddhist System of Liberation
- On the Plane of Self Consciousness IV
- Contemplation and the Divine Therapy - 2
- JERRY RAWLINGS, GHANAIAN STRONG MAN WHO CAME TO POWER IN A COUP BUT INTRODUCED DEMOCRACY – OBITUARY
- The Buddhist System of Liberation - 2
- On the Plane of Self Consciousness IV - 2