Arctic Oil and Gas

The Arctic could hold some of the world's largest remaining untapped oil and gas reserves. Sustainability must be prioritized over exploitation in the Arctic because the implications are global.

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Arctic countries need to lead the cut of CO2

The hottest temperature ever measured above the Arctic circle was recorded in Verkhoyansk, Siberia this past June. In fact, the + 38.6°C reading was just one of many highs that made June 2020 in Siberia five degrees warmer than any June from 1981 to 2010. A recent Oxford University-led study shows man-made climate change due to carbon emissions made this Siberian heatwave 600 times more likely.

Why it matters

The Arctic's shallow and biologically productive seas are also rich with oil reserves. But oil exploration poses a tremendous risk to vulnerable Arctic ecosystems and communities. Oil and gas development could also damage fisheries, tourism and other, more sustainable economic activities. The production of Arctic oil and gas contributes even more to the climate crisis through increased greenhouse gas emissions.

Important species are at risk

Offshore oil exploration, drilling and production can threaten the fish and marine mammals that Indigenous Peoples in the Arctic rely on. Whales and other marine mammals are exposed to harmful underwater noise, as they use sound to navigate, find mates, and search for food in dark Arctic waters.

Spill response is slow and cleanup impossible

The Arctic’s marine ecosystems are particularly vulnerable to oil spills from blowouts, pipeline leaks or shipping accidents. The lack of infrastructure and remoteness of the Arctic means it can take days or weeks to respond to a spill. The Arctic has short summers, low temperatures, and limited sunlight, it can take decades for Arctic ocean ecosystems to recover from damage.

Rising temperatures

Drilling for more oil and gas in the Arctic is not compliant with the Paris Agreement to keep global temperature rise to less than 1.5°C. Arctic states currently have some of the world’s largest carbon footprints. In 2016, they accounted for more than 21% of global CO2 emissions.

The myth of economic benefits

The costs of drilling for oil in the Arctic don’t make sense. The liability for cleanup and accidents is high compared to the return on any investments and there are few benefits for Arctic communities. Right now, Arctic governments are subsidizing oil and gas production instead of investing those funds into a renewable future.

Our solutions

Switch to renewable energy

We urgently need to transition towards a 100% renewable future through the development of clean energy sources. Governments need to finance renewable energy in the Arctic and beyond instead of subsidizing oil and gas.

©Brian Abeling / CC BY NC

No new development without effective spill response

We lack the demonstrated ability to respond to and effectively contain or clean up major oil spills in the Arctic. Arctic spills can contaminate local environments for decades, and effectively wipe out local populations of certain species, affecting local livelihoods and food security.

©ARLIS

Protect ecologically valuable areas

Ecologically valuable areas, like the Lofoten and Vesteraalen islands of coastal Norway, the West Kamchatka Shelf in Russia, and the waters of Alaska’s Beaufort and Chukchi Seas should be permanently withdrawn from offshore oil and gas development.

©Shutterstock

Quiet the oceans

We’re asking industry to keep seismic testing, which can damage the hearing of marine mammals, far from key wildlife habitat.

©VDOS Global / WWF-Canada

How we work

A quieter ocean for Arctic whales

Whales depend on sound to survive. WWF is working to limit sound pollution in Arctic waters by making parts of the ocean important for whales off limits to particularly loud industrial activities.

Addressing offshore drilling

For more than a decade, WWF has worked to stop offshore oil and gas development that threatens the wildlife and local communities that thrive in the Arctic’s often brutal environment.

Keeping oil out of important areas

WWF is working in Norway to make areas such as Lofoten permanently off limits to oil drilling, because of the natural values of the region, and the economic value of the local fishery.

Promoting marine governance in Russia

WWF promotes marine governance in the Arctic that includes cooperation and biodiversity protection within the Arctic Council. WWF-Russia previously participated in negotiations on legally binding agreement on Oil Spill Response, and following its approval, promotes its implementation in Russia.