WWF-Canada statement to GLACIER delegates on Arctic offshore oil and gas

Toronto, August 24, 2015 – One week from today, the U.S. Department of State will host a major event in Anchorage, Alaska entitled the Conference on Global Leadership in the Arctic: Cooperation, Innovation, Engagement and Resilience (GLACIER). In attendance will be foreign ministers and high-level leaders from all eight Arctic nations, as well as countries and intergovernmental bodies with strong interests in the Arctic. 

Leading up to this conference, WWF-Canada will be calling attention to issues in need of international co-operation as we seek to balance the economic needs of struggling Arctic communities with the necessity to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions.  

The following is a statement from WWF-Canada President and CEO David Miller on the risks to ecosystems and communities if governments continue to approve offshore oil and gas activities in the Arctic.

“Simply put, the technology for containing oil spills in icy waters does not exist, and the extreme conditions of the Arctic make offshore oil development much too risky. Arctic waters are an extraordinarily rich and productive marine environment, and coastal communities from the Chukchi Sea to Baffin Bay are dependent on these waters for their livelihood and survival. We ask that GLACIER delegates turn their collective focus away from oil and gas and towards renewable energies which can provide economic benefits to northern communities, but without such environmentally ruinous consequences.”

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For further information contact

Chris Chaplin, WWF-Canada, [email protected], +1 416 669-9155