Five nations keep cap in hand with Arctic treaty
Julian Borger; 30/5/08
Environment groups have denounced as a territorial “carve-up” a deal signed by five Arctic nations seeking to resolve competing claims. The agreement was signed in Greenland by ministers from Russia, the US, Norway, Denmark and Canada, and sought to cool down an increasingly heated scramble for the Arctic, driven by the prospect of oil and gas reserves and shipping lanes made newly accessible by the melting of the polar icecap. The declaration after talks on Wednesday said the five countries would abide by the 1982 Law of the Sea, which determines territorial claims according to coastlines and undersea continental shelves. But environmentalists said the closed-door meeting paved the way for a land grab by countries that have claims to the continental shelf at the pole.
See: http://www.theage.com.au/world/five-nations-keep-cap-in-hand-with-arctic-treaty-20080529-2ji6.html
Tags: Arctic, Environment, Global