EU Draft Strategy Removes Arctic Oil and Gas Moratorium

The European Union is relaxing its opposition to oil and gas production in polar regions within a draft of its forthcoming Arctic strategy. The draft document contains no references to a moratorium on new oil and gas drilling, marking a departure from the trade bloc's 2021 position.

While the strategy continues to call for all fossil fuels to be kept in the ground, the removal of specific ban language follows intense discussions and lobbying from Norway. The Norwegian government sought to end the climate-based opposition to exploration in the high north.