Greenland Suspends Oil Exploration Because of Climate Change
2021-07-22
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1The government of Greenland has decided to suspend all oil exploration off the Arctic island's coast.
2Officials say it is "a natural step" because the government "takes the climate crisis seriously."
3No oil has been found yet around Greenland, which is a territory of The Kingdom of Denmark.
4But officials there had seen finding large amounts of oil as a way to help Greenlanders realize their dream of independence from Denmark.
5Greenland receives about $540 million each year from Denmark.
6Global warming means that melting ice could uncover possible oil and mineral resources.
7Those resources could greatly change the future of the territory of 57,000 people.
8"The future does not lie in oil. The future belongs to renewable energy, and in that respect we have much more to gain," the Greenland government said in a statement.
9The government added that it "wants to take co-responsibility for combating the global climate crisis."
10The decision was made June 24, but only made public last week.
11The U.S. Geological Survey estimates there could be 17.5 billion undiscovered barrels of oil and 148 trillion cubic feet of natural gas off Greenland, the world's largest island.
12The island's distant location and severe weather, however, have limited exploration.
13The current government has also stopped plans for uranium mining in southern Greenland.
14Greenland still has four active oil and gas exploration permits.
15They can be used as long as the two companies that hold them are actively exploring.
16The government's decision to stop oil exploration was welcomed by the environmental group Greenpeace, which called the decision "fantastic."
17Denmark decides foreign, defense and security policies for Greenland.
18Denmark's yearly financial support for Greenland makes up about two-thirds of the island's economy.
19I'm Jonathan Evans.
1The government of Greenland has decided to suspend all oil exploration off the Arctic island's coast. Officials say it is "a natural step" because the government "takes the climate crisis seriously." 2No oil has been found yet around Greenland, which is a territory of The Kingdom of Denmark. But officials there had seen finding large amounts of oil as a way to help Greenlanders realize their dream of independence from Denmark. Greenland receives about $540 million each year from Denmark. 3Global warming means that melting ice could uncover possible oil and mineral resources. Those resources could greatly change the future of the territory of 57,000 people. 4"The future does not lie in oil. The future belongs to renewable energy, and in that respect we have much more to gain," the Greenland government said in a statement. The government added that it "wants to take co-responsibility for combating the global climate crisis." 5The decision was made June 24, but only made public last week. 6The U.S. Geological Survey estimates there could be 17.5 billion undiscovered barrels of oil and 148 trillion cubic feet of natural gas off Greenland, the world's largest island. The island's distant location and severe weather, however, have limited exploration. 7The current government has also stopped plans for uranium mining in southern Greenland. 8Greenland still has four active oil and gas exploration permits. They can be used as long as the two companies that hold them are actively exploring. 9The government's decision to stop oil exploration was welcomed by the environmental group Greenpeace, which called the decision "fantastic." 10Denmark decides foreign, defense and security policies for Greenland. Denmark's yearly financial support for Greenland makes up about two-thirds of the island's economy. 11I'm Jonathan Evans. 12Jonathan Evans adapted this story for Learning English based on a report from the Associated Press. Susan Shand was the editor. 13______________________________________________ 14Words in This Story 15global - adj. involving the entire world 16barrel - n. a round usually wooden container with curved sides and flat ends; the amount contained in a full barrel 17fantastic - adj. extremely good