Greenpeace demands end to Arctic drilling

Greenpeace is launching a campaign to have the Arctic region declared a sanctuary by the United Nations, backed up by Sir Paul McCartney, actor Robert Redford and the boy band One Direction. The group aims for a million signatures on a petition calling for an end to oil exploration and unsustainable fishing, which will be planted on the sea bed.The first 100 signatories on the new petition include explorers, business leaders, actors and musicians. Film director Pedro Almodovar and his sometime leading lady Penelope Cruz, Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke, actor Javier Bardem and businessman Sir Richard Branson are on the list.

Environment groups are bitterly disappointed that governments have chosen not to press forward on issues such as ending fossil fuel subsidies, enhancing energy efficiency and espousing the idea of a "green economy".                   

The Executive director of Greenpeace International, Kumi Naidoo said: "The Arctic is coming under assault, and needs people from around the world to stand up and demand action to protect it."

With Arctic warming up faster, it becomes easier for companies to prospect for oil and gas, with the US, Canada, Greenland and Russia among countries pursuing this nascent industry.

Greenpeace is calling for an agreement to ban environmentally damaging activities in the Arctic region, just as they were banned in the Antarctic 21 years ago under a protocol added to the Antarctic Treaty.