Oil and gas group Total will not explore for oil within the boundaries of Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Chairman and CEO Cristophe de Margerie announced.

The United States will be required to develop a plan for responding to oil and gas spills in the Arctic Ocean if an agreement signed today by Secretary of State John Kerry and others is adhered to by the U.S. government.

As climate change melts Arctic sea ice, the Bering Strait is seeing a marked increase in shipping traffic. WWF is taking action to ensure that development in the Arctic occurs in an environmentally and socially responsible way.

Royal Dutch Shell today announced today that it will forgo its plans to drill for oil and gas in Alaska’s Beaufort and Chukchi seas in 2013 so it can be more prepared to drill in the future. The decision by Shell comes on the heels of the company’s 2012 drilling season in Alaska, which was fraught with challenges, including the near-grounding of one of its drill rigs, a fire later on the same rig, the failure of its oil spill containment dome, and, ultimately, the grounding of a drilling rig on a pristine, wildlife-rich island in Alaska in late December.

Shell Oil Company has been granted permission by the U.S. government to begin preparatory drilling in Alaska’s Chukchi Sea. Layla Hughes, WWF’s expert on oil and gas development, shares her concerns and what WWF is doing to address them.

We hit the trifecta. After an 18-hour boat ride through the wild waters of the Pacific, we reached Magdalena Bay, Mexico. The water was still. The sky was solid blue. We were told by our guides that dozens of gray whales, each just a few weeks old, were in this part of the bay and at the stage of their life when they wanted to do what all children want to do: play. It was the perfect set-up for whale watching.