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The United States and Canada issued a joint statement on Tuesday to confirm their commitment to developing a strategy to phase out the use of heavy fuel oil (HFO) within the Arctic, and to proposing a related plan to the International Maritime Organization (IMO) in 2017.

Additionally, both nations said they would be banning oil and natural gas drilling in the majority of the Arctic's Chukchi and Beaufort Seas. Canada has also committed to banning all oil and natural gas licensing in the Canadian Arctic with a periodic review for reassessment.

In response to the announcement, Danielle Grabiel, Senior Policy Analyst at the Energy Information Administration (EIA), said: "Today's announcement by the United States and Canada is a victory for the Arctic Ocean, as well as the people and wildlife that depend on it. This decisive action will be remembered as a cornerstone of President Obama's environmental legacy, and as a foundation of Prime Minister Trudeau's."

"Placing the Arctic's waters off limits to oil development, and phasing out the use of the dirtiest shipping fuel, charts a better future for iconic species like the beluga whale, and EIA is committed to defending this historic decision," Grabiel added.

Tuesday's announcement builds on past statements made by the United States and Canada. On 3rd March 2016, in the 'US-Canada Joint Statement on Climate, Energy, and Arctic Leadership', Obama and Trudeau expressed their commitment to working with Arctic partners on "how best to address the risks posed by heavy fuel oil use and black carbon emissions from Arctic shipping."

Also, in a document submitted by the United States and Canada to IMO's Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) on 2nd September, both countries stated that "an HFO spill in the Arctic could cause long-term damage to the environment."

In a landmark decision at the end of October, the MEPC decided to set 1st January 2020 as the date to implement a global 0.5% cap on sulphur content in marine fuels.

The use of heavy fuel oil is already banned throughout Antarctica and in the national park waters around the Norwegian Arctic archipelago of Svalbard.

The next MEPC meeting, session 71, is due to be held between 3rd and 7th July 2017.