Arctic oil, gas production is booming despite climate fears
Oil and gas companies are being bankrolled by some of the biggest names in finance to tap the Arctic's vast natural wealth even as warnings grow about the melting ice cap due to man-made global warming.
Gazprom, ConocoPhillips and TotalEnergies are among energy firms expanding their fossil-fuel expansion in the region, with production of oil and gas set to climb 20% over the next five years, according to a report by Reclaim Finance. The banking sector is complicit, having provided more than $314 billion for such companies from 2016 to 2020, the climate watchdog said.
"The Arctic is a climate bomb, and our research shows that the oil and gas industry is hellbent on setting it off, thus blowing up our chances of avoiding runaway climate breakdown," said Alix Mazounie, co-author of the report. "But they aren't the only culprits: Financial institutions have bankrolled these companies, making a mockery of their own climate commitments."..
