Master's Thesis from the year 2013 in the subject Energy Sciences, grade: 1,3, Dresden Technical University (Department of Economic Policy and Economic Research), course: Internationale Beziehungen, language: English, abstract: The Arctic is probably the only region in the world that has as of yet been largely spared from human activities. This is primarily caused by its extreme environmental conditions. Nevertheless, the region hosts a unique biodiversity that is of significant social, economic and cultural importance to local communities.Today, the Arctic is increasingly regarded as key region in a globalised world. In the same time, the Arctic faces various challenges in the 21th century including the search for natural resources, global warming and environmental protection, as well as the emergence of shipping routes and the establishment of tourist centres (Berkman 2012).It is well-known that the world's increasing demand for energy resources goes hand in hand with the growing world population and the significant importance of emerging countriessuch as China, Brazil and India. Furthermore, a decrease of oil production can be observed in major oil producing regions, whereas oil prices will increase in the long-term andthe provision of energy resources will be prospectively concentrated in alternative regions. For a long time, energy extraction in the Arctic appeared non-economical, because of harsh weather conditions and the need for high technical standards - though this might change in the near future. Changing climate in general and rising temperatures in particular result in the melting of sea ice. As a consequence, this process implies new economic opportunities for energy extraction activities in the once ice-covered Arctic Ocean. The potential for undiscovered offshore energy deposits is already recognised, but the Arctic Ocean is gaining further importance for other future energy extraction activities as well. It can be assumed that the production of energy from offshore development will continue to increase considerably in the future.Based on the considerations to ensure long-term sustainable development in the Arctic Ocean, this study aims to analyse if sustainable development is generally measureable inthis region. The study pursues a European perspective and focuses on the commercial exploitation (oil and gas activities) of the European Arctic Ocean.