Financial institutions and investors have urged the European Union, which is considering a review of its approach to putting energy security at the forefront, to stay on track and prevent new gas and oil exploration in the Arctic, Reuters reported.
The call highlights investor concerns that the Iran nuclear deal, sparked by US and Israeli attacks, and the ensuing energy crisis, could be used as an excuse to abandon climate goals at a time when securing supplies is high on governments’ agendas.
Nordea Asset Management, a unit of Nordic lender Nordea, and 11 other financial institutions have signed a European Commission appeal not to change its stance, warning that it could both undermine climate goals and pose a threat to energy security in the long term.
It would take more than a decade for new fossil fuel extraction sites in the Arctic to become operational, meaning that new deposits would not solve the current crisis, the letter to the EC says. It was also signed by scientists and public organizations.
The authors of the appeal stressed that the Arctic regions are one of the most vulnerable ecosystems on the planet,
home to unique creatures, and expanding oil and natural gas extraction would put significant pressure on them.
The war in Iran has shaken the international energy market, and the price of natural gas in Europe has risen sharply. The largest gas supplier to Europe, Norway, which is not a member of the EU, has called on Brussels to lift the moratorium. Many Norwegian oil fields are nearing exhaustion, meaning that Norway’s oil production will decline in the 2030s. This could be prevented by starting to exploit new deposits.
The EU’s current policy advocates a ban on new projects in the Arctic and is against buying up resources from new deposits. However, no formal moratorium has been adopted. An EC representative has indicated that the EU is reviewing its Arctic policy, but no decision has yet been made.
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