In addition to climate change and world energy markets, an international treaty has given the countries bordering the Arctic Ocean the opportunity to substantially expand their northern territory. The United Nations Law of the Sea Convention allows countries to claim a continental shelf. Without getting into the technical questions of what is a continental shelf, the physical attributes of the Arctic Ocean allow Canada, the United States, Russia and Denmark (for Greenland) to extend their control of the "soil and subsoil" of their northern ocean boundaries up to the North Pole. In effect this gives these states the rights to the oil and gas deposits that may be found there. All four countries are now engaging in substantial scientific research to determine the co-ordinates of their northern continental shelf. A disagreement will arise between the four countries when they discover that their claims overlap with their neighbours'. But once (and if) the differences are resolved, jurisdictional certainty will prevail over who owns these resources. The oil and gas companies prefer to have this certainty before they commit huge amounts of money to develop the resources.

There will be costs. One of the greatest environmental ironies is that burning fossil fuels produces the gases leading to global warming. In turn, this warming leads to conditions that allow for the development of the fossil fuels found in the north. As these fossil fuels are produced and used they will in turn lead to further global warming. While this feedback loop is positive for the development of the resources, it will not be so beneficial for both the animal life in the North and those northerners who wish to retain their traditional way of life. As the ice melts, the larger predators are already facing challenges to their long-term existence. Some scientists are worried that the decreasing ice cover of Hudson Bay is already causing an increase in the mortality of seal pups. Seal pups are one of the main food sources for polar bears. The fear is that no ice means no seal pups which means no bears. Any increase in the production of gases associated with climate change will likely hasten this process.