As the price of oil lurches towards $100 a barrel, a region which is generally not on centre stage has suddenly come into focus. Russia has planted its flag on the Arctic sea bed. Canada has staged ‘Operation Nanook 07’. Norway and Germany are rushing in. Britain seems to be losing out. Everybody and his brother, including the US, want a large slice of the 25 per cent of oil reserves in the world which lie below the Arctic ice. Meanwhile, environmental activists are up in arms, arguing that exploitation of these reserves would only add to the deleterious effects of climate change.

All things considered, the world is going to need these reserves in order to survive until alternative fuels are in place. But even as this is acknowledged, we need to also realise that the future of the world depends on arresting the emission of fossil fuels into the atmosphere. So how do we address this problem?

Oil prices show no signs of abatement. At such prices how can the developing world survive? The developed world also sees problems in the future and hence is out to grab what it can. The climate change debate mulls over whether the faster growing economies should restrict their levels of pollution or whether the developed world should now drastically reduce emissions by taking a cut on their super lifestyles, so that others in the world can have two meals a day.

Debates of this kind have been going on for years, with no solutions in sight, given the vested interests. Meanwhile, the ice cap above the Arctic Ocean has been reduced by at least 25 per cent over the last 30 years. In fact, 10 per cent of the Arctic ice cap has shrunk by 10 per cent since 2005, and some project that the Arctic Ocean could be ice-free in summer by 2040.

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