Arctic fossil fuel development shows significant overlaps with Indigenous communities and ecologically sensitive areas, which might support calls from some scientists to keep Arctic fossil fuels in the ground, according to a study published April 22, 2026 in the open-access journal PLOS One by Daniele Codato of the University of Padova, Italy and colleagues.
The Arctic is a frontline for fossil fuel development and climate change impact, long portrayed as a region with abundant undiscovered oil and gas resources, while warming at a rate nearly four times higher than the global average. Reducing these impacts requires a thorough assessment of these factors and their relationship to local human and wildlife communities, and ecosystems. In this study, researchers compiled information from a variety of open access databases to create the first atlas of Arctic oil and gas.
The data reveals over 512,000 square kilometers of exploited Arctic territory, an area roughly equivalent to Spain or Thailand. Over 7% of this area overlaps with ecologically protected regions, and over 13% overlaps with the ranges of all three key Arctic species considered in the study: polar bears, yellow-billed loons, and caribou. Furthermore, approximately 73% of the exploited territory overlaps with Indigenous Peoples’ Lands. These overlaps highlight numerous areas of potential ecological disruption and social tension, particularly in heavily-exploited regions such as the North Slope of Alaska and the Yamal Peninsula of Russia.
The authors suggest that this data makes a strong case in favor of recent proposals to declare the Arctic a Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Zone, and for future decisions about Arctic fossil fuel extraction to focus on the inclusion of Indigenous perspectives and the safeguarding of regional ecosystems. The authors also note that future studies should include more fine-grained scale data and analyses about regions of concern such as Alberta and Alaska, as well as data on species of specific importance to Indigenous livelihoods.
The authors add: “Our atlas reveals the sheer scale of Arctic oil and gas development: over 500,000 square kilometers are already covered by licenses—an area comparable to Spain. We identified more than 44,000 wells, nearly 40,000 kilometers of pipelines, and almost 2 million kilometers of seismic lines across the Arctic. Moreover, over 73% of Arctic oil and gas concessions overlap with Indigenous Peoples’ lands, raising critical questions about spatial justice and governance.”
“Identifying where oil and gas extraction overlaps with ecological and cultural priorities helps define not only 'when', but also 'where' fossil fuels should remain underground. If climate goals are to be met, the Arctic may be one of the regions where fossil fuels should remain in the ground. The Arctic Atlas provides new spatial evidence that strengthens the case for an Arctic fossil fuel non-proliferation zone."
“A recurring challenge in our research is the lack of accessible and integrated data on the oil and gas industry. In the Arctic, information on oil and gas is highly fragmented, so one of our main goals was to systematize these scattered sources into a single open tool that can support future research and decision-making.”
In your coverage, please use this URL to provide access to the freely available article in PLOS One : https://plos.io/4sxwiml
Citation: Codato D, Vezzelli D, Ammaturo F, Lazazzera G, Stralla A, Pappalardo SE, et al. (2026) Unburnable carbon in the rapidly warming Arctic: Mapping spatial relationships among oil and gas development, ecologically sensitive areas and Indigenous Peoples’ lands. PLoS One 21(4): e0345775. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0345775
Author countries: Italy, Germany.
Funding: This research is part of the activities of the “Just Fossil Fuel Transition Jean Monnet Center of Excellence” and was funded by the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union, Grant Number: 101175896 — JFFT — ERASMUS-JMO-2024-HEI-TCH-RSCH to DC, DV, SEP, MD. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. This article reflects the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
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Unburnable carbon in the rapidly warming Arctic: Mapping spatial relationships among oil and gas development, ecologically sensitive areas and Indigenous Peoples’ lands
22-Apr-2026
The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.