The Nobel laureates of the Nobel Women’s Initiative have sent a letter to the Arctic Council urging them to protect vulnerable areas and the climate by removing Arctic waters from any future oil and gas exploration.
The letter comes as the Arctic Council’s senior officials prepare for a meeting in Fairbanks, AK. In the letter, the laureates highlight the urgency of taking meaningful action on climate change and leaving fossil fuels in the ground. They also call attention to the serious risks that drilling in such a remote and sensitive region poses to Indigenous communities, wildlife, and the environment.
“Climate change is threatening hundreds of millions of lives and livelihoods across every continent, making it not only the environmental challenge of our time, but also a critical issue of human rights, justice, and equity. As recipients of the Nobel Peace Prize, we believe that it is one of the greatest threats to global peace and stability,” the letter states, also noting that the impacts of global warming are especially acute in arctic regions.
The letter also comes in advance of the imminent release of the Obama Administration’s five year offshore drilling plan, which represents a critical piece of President Obama’s legacy on climate and the environment.
Read the full letter by clicking here
Source: nobelwomensinitiative.org
