Arctic

After the Observer magazine cover story about our Arctic campaign, there was a flurry of interest around the statistic that we've lost 75% of the Arctic sea ice since 1979. Here's Peter Wadhams, Professor of Ocean Physics at Cambridge University, on why he thinks the 75% figure is correct.

Yesterday morning, staff at Greenpeace Germany received an important-looking letter from Shell - well, Shell’s Legal Services department. Over the next 24 hours or so, identical letters arrived at other Greenpeace offices, including Mexico, UK, France, Hungary, Nordic, Japan, Mediterranean, Poland, Greece, Czech Republic, Belgium, Canada and even Greenpeace’s Science Unit. I think it’s fair to say Shell had something they wanted to say to us.

Last week, Lloyd’s of London - the world’s leading insurer which sets the global standard for risk assessment - released a report warning investors not to rush in and invest in Arctic drilling. Looking at the industrial onslaught that is likely to hit the Arctic as the sea ice melts, the report covers the environmental impacts and financial risks of industrial fishing, shipping and mining. But it's most scathing on oil drilling, and in particular of the ability of oil companies to clean up after a major spill.