http://www.envinews.eu/article/622863/
Published: Thursday, March 28, 2013

The newly elected government in Greenland has halted approval of new offshore oil and gas drilling permits in its Arctic waters.

Prime Minister Aleqa Hammond said that he was reluctant to approve new permits and that existing operations would be subject to more scrutiny moving forward. He also will set up a parliamentary body to examine offshore operations.

Oil companies view Greenland, Russia and Alaska as containing roughly 25 percent of the world’s remaining oil and gas reserves.

But environmentalists continue to voice concerns about drilling in those areas and its effects on climate change and the pristine northern environment.

“Until now, the people of Greenland have been kept in the dark about the enormous risks taken by the politicians and companies in the search for Arctic oil. Now it seems that the new government will start taking these risks seriously. The logical conclusion must be a total ban on offshore oil drilling in Greenland,” said Jon Burgwald, an Arctic campaigner for Greenpeace in Denmark.

(Terry Macalister, London Guardian, March 27). — MM

Special thanks to Richard Charter