Atlantic decision is an oceanic victory

Three months after the Paris conference on climate change, the Barack Obama administration in US has deferred to the wishes of the environment lobby even if the move alienates or at any rate disappoints America’s hungry oil sector. The prospect of drilling for the first time in the Atlantic Ocean has been abandoned.
The surprise decision to scrap the plan is at once a setback for the oil lobby and a shot in the arm for environmentalists. Contextualised with the existing bar on drilling in the ocean, Tuesday’s reversal of course is expected to protect the Atlantic for future generations, and ought to be welcomed by both the developed and the developing world.
Profound must be the underlying message – the Atlantic or indeed any ocean belongs to the Earth and it devolves on the world to protect it, not to forget the raging struggle for the mastery of the Arctic. Small wonder that the White House decision, in the season of Super Tuesday 2 has been instantly hailed by environment groups.
The decision to scrap the project is by any reckoning a critical swingback – not to be confused with backtracking – on the part of Barack Obama as he goes through the wrap-up motions of his presidency. It has on the whole been an oceanic victory. Both the oil sector in America and countries on either side of the Atlantic must realise that better sense has prevailed. A similar sense of awareness of the inherent risks might yet generate hope for climate in the wider context and more forcefully than what is achieved at periodic conferences on climate change.
Whether the venue is Copenhagen or Cancun, discord at the high table tends to overshadow the realities of geography in terms of global warming or oceanic studies. Conceived in January last year, the plan would have allowed exploration in areas at least 50 miles from the coastlines of Virginia, North and South Carolina, and Georgia. The project was sought to be pursued despite vehement opposition from seaside and tourist communities in all the peripheral states. The military had also expressed concern that it could impede naval operations.
Energy companies had made a robust pitch for access to the Atlantic Ocean, which offers a rich harvest of an estimated 3.3 billion barrels of recoverable oil as well as important reserves of natural gas. Next to power plants, oil exploration has been a major emitter of greenhouse gas, and the decision will hopefully spur the quest for cleaner sources of energy through technological innovation. President Obama has reinforced a distinct edge for the Democrats with an extremely significant step, verily a multiple victory for the oceans, for coastal economies, for mitigating climate change... and not least the people.