Brussels - The European Union should lead international efforts to protect the Arctic region from global warming and from the resulting increase in the exploitation by humans of its natural resources, officials in Brussels said Thursday.

In a document submitted to the European Parliament and to member states, the European Commission warned that the Arctic region was becoming "increasingly at risk from the combined effects of climate change and increased human activity."

With Arctic air temperatures having increased twice as much as the global average, the EU executive expects that the resulting melting of the ice sheets will improve access to the region's natural resources, as well as opening up new navigation routes.

Consequently, the EU should help "strengthen international efforts" to mitigate the impact of climate change on the region, and ensure that its own transport, energy or fisheries policies do not play a role in further damaging the Arctic.

The EU should also provide support to the region's 4 million people, a third of whom are indigenous, step up the protection of whales, and work with Norway and Russia to exploit its untapped hydrocarbon reserves in an environmentally-sustainable way.

The Arctic, which comprises the regions around the North Pole, hosts territories from three EU member states - Denmark (including Greenland), Finland and Sweden - plus Canada, Iceland, Norway, Russia and the United States. (dpa)