The Battle for the Arctic
The Arctic holds 13% of the world’s untapped oil and 30% of the world’s untapped natural gas, representing trillions of dollars in potential profits.
This means that in the far north, issues of sovereignty, security, the environment and trade are intertwining with alarming speed.
This documentary looks at the potential environmental impact of resource extraction in the Arctic, and what it might mean for the people who live there.
The United Nations has set a deadline of 2013 for the submission of scientific statements on the Arctic seabed. It is the harbinger of a resource boom that will be sought by Canada, the United States, Russia, Norway and Greenland.
The Arctic nations are desperately mapping their territories so they can tap the fossil fuels and minerals that lie beneath the rapidly melting ice.
As global warming accelerates the melting of the polar ice caps, potential shipping routes are opening up – raising concerns about oil spills and control over these new shipping lanes.
