Rick Perry, the head of the U.S. Department of Energy, highlighted natural resources available in the Arctic while pushing back against non-Arctic influences in the region.

On Thursday at the Arctic Circle Assembly in Reykjavik, when U.S. Secretary of Energy Rick Perry spoke about U.S. Arctic energy investments, he included the development of renewable resources and microgrids in Alaska.

But he grew most animated when he talked about the potential for natural resources like oil and natural gas.

“By any measure, the Arctic region is brimming with the incredible opportunity of economics and its energy potential,” he said. According to a 2008 estimate from the U.S. Geological Survey, the Arctic may contain one-third of the world’s undiscovered oil and gas reserves, he pointed out.

“We’re convinced that they can be responsibly explored — they can be developed for the benefit of Arctic peoples and communities and ultimately the world,” he said, addressing the region’s policymakers and researchers at the annual Arctic conference in Iceland.

The remarks were in jarring contrast to many of the other speakers, who emphasized efforts to curb emissions and reduce the worst impacts of climate change on a rapidly changing Arctic. Read more at ArcticToday.