420
Arctic Yearbook 2015
that would highlight the need for the long-term decarbonisation of the global economy or the
reduction to zero of emissions generated from the combustion of fossil fuels emissions.
This provision would mainly have, at this stage, an aspirational nature. Even if countries in Paris were
to endorse the need to phase-out fossil fuels emissions before the end of the century, the governments
of the five Arctic coastal states are unlikely to shift their current position and to renounce to exploit
the oil and gas reserves trapped under their Arctic continental shelves. But such a statement could
further emphasize the financial risks related to stranded assets (resources which are no longer able to
earn the economic return originally expected due to a change of the regulatory or economic landscape).
In a region where the scale of investments required to produce fossil fuels leads to particularly slow
return on investment, a strong commitment by all governments to phase out fossil fuels emissions
could further undermine the economic rationale of new oil and gas extraction projects.
Credit pictures (in order): Sébastien Duyck, UNEP/Grid-Arendal, Jay Preston, Krichevsky.
References
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What Role for the Arctic in COP-21?