The European Union has decided to keep restrictions on oil and gas exploration in the Arctic.
Euronews reported an E.U. spokesperson told the publication a moratorium on all oil and gas exploration in the Arctic will remain, despite oil and gas industry representatives and Norwegian government officials both pushing for a drop in the ban. According to Euronews, a new strategy will be announced on 20 October, which will include the moratorium.
Norway has reportedly opposed the continued moratorium, as following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the sanctions on energy resources the E.U. established in response, Norway has become a major supplier of natural gas and other fossil fuels to the E.U.
Norway Energy Minister Terje Aasland reportedly told AFP the country may ignore the ban.
"Norway decides on its resources, not the E.U.,” he told AFP. "Without Norwegian deliveries, the energy situation in Europe would be far more difficult. Norway is a stable and reliable supplier of oil and gas, and this also applies to our production in the Barents Sea.”
Ahead of the announcement, the Long Distance Fleet Advisory Council (LDAC), an E.U. fisheries body representing stakeholders in the fishing sector composed of more than 50 members from 12 E.U. coastal states, has called on the bloc to maintain its moratorium and strengthen its position against any potential oil and gas developments in the area.
“The LDAC stresses the global ecological importance of Arctic marine ecosystems and their role in supporting productive fisheries,” LDAC said in a release. “Arctic waters provide important breeding, spawning, feeding and overwintering grounds for commercially important species including cod, capelin, Norwegian spring-spawning herring, and Atlantic mackerel. Because many of these stocks migrate across large areas and national boundaries, environmental impacts in Arctic waters can have consequences for fisheries well beyond the areas directly affected.”
LDAC said there is already growing environmental pressures on the Arctic ecosystem due to climate change, and the additional exploration could add even more stressors.
“The LDAC further recalls its previous advice concerning deep-sea mining and fisheries, particularly in relation to Norway’s plans for exploration and exploitation in the Arctic,” it said. “It notes that knowledge of Arctic seabed ecosystems remains limited and reiterates the rationale for maintaining a precautionary approach until there is better evidence regarding environmental risks and impacts.”
