Greenland has stopped issuing new licenses for oil and gas exploration due to environmental concerns. This is presented in a statement of the Ministry of Mineral Resources.
What’s more, it has stopped all oil and gas exploration, the Associated Press said.
The agency noted that Greenland’s left-wing government, which may be sitting on huge reserves of oil (and natural gas), said the cost of oil exploration was too high, and called its decision to suspend exploration a “natural step” because takes the climate crisis seriously. “
Greenland is thought to have vast unexplored oil reserves.
The decision is based on economic calculations, taking into account the impact of such studies on climate and the environment, the statement said.
“This step was taken in the interest of our nature, fishing, tourism, and the idea to focus our business on sustainable opportunities,” said the agency.
However, the government’s position is that it is better for Greenland to focus on sustainable development as opportunities for the use of renewable energy sources, said Minister of Natural Resources Naadja Nathanielsen.
Environment and Energy Minister Kalstat Lund said the government, which took power after the parliamentary elections in April and presented an election program with a focus on the environment, took climate change very seriously.
“Every day we can see the consequences for our country and we are ready to contribute to finding global solutions in the fight against climate change,” Lund said.
“Oil is not the future. It belongs to renewable energy and we can gain a lot in this regard,” the government was quoted as saying by the Danish newspaper Ingenioren, which was the first to announce the Greenland authorities’ decision.
Greenland, like the Faroe Islands, is officially part of the Kingdom of Denmark, but is largely autonomous.
The left-wing government in Greenland (which came to power after the recent elections) has also cooled the enthusiasm of mining companies that wanted to develop rich deposits of rare metals.
1 Comment
Bill C 2 years ago
That won’t last long. As soon as the government is changed they’ll realize the need for oil and gas.