Untouchable: The Climate Case Against Arctic Drilling
Oil Change International and Greenpeace U.S. – August 2015
There is a clear logic that can be applied to the global challenge of addressing climate change: when you are in a hole, stop digging. If we are serious about tackling the global climate crisis, we need to stop exploring, expanding, and ultimately exploiting fossil fuels. This is especially true for high cost, high carbon, high risk frontier projects such as offshore Arctic oil.
While the Obama Administration has been clear on its commitment to climate action, they continue to allow companies like Royal Dutch Shell to sink billions of dollars in the hunt for unburnable carbon in the U.S. Arctic Ocean off the coast of Alaska. This report lays bare the case that Arctic oil is wholly irreconcilable with stated national and international objectives to address climate change. Put very simply: Arctic oil fails the climate test.