Nature Canada

Good news for Arctic marine ecosystems

Image of Stephen Hazell

Stephen Hazell
Director of Conservation
and General Counsel

Congratulations to Prime Minister Trudeau and U.S. President Barack Obama for agreeing yesterday to ban offshore drilling in the Arctic!

Trudeau declared a five-year ban on new licensing in all Arctic waters, with a review based on climate and marine science at the end of that period. Obama used the little-known Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to withdraw hundreds of millions of acres of federal land in the Arctic and Atlantic Ocean from new offshore oil and gas drilling.

It is increasingly clear that the risk of catastrophic spills from Arctic oil drilling and tanker traffic is unacceptably high given dangerous sea ice, unpredictable weather, and the lack of emergency response capability near drilling sites and tanker routes.

These decisions represent significant steps toward protecting the Arctic’s unique ecosystems.

Trudeau and Obama also committed to phasing down the use of heavy fuel oil in the Arctic, which should also contribute to the sustainability of Arctic Indigenous communities as well as reduce the risk of harm to whales, polar bears and shorebirds from a tanker spill.

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