The green light for a major oil and gas operation in Alaska has been given by US President Joe Biden at a time when environmental activists are responding to the project.

ConocoPhillips, which took over the project, said it would create thousands of jobs and invest locally, but the $8 billion offer was met with a wave of online activity, especially among young people on TikTok.

Those who oppose ConocoPhillips’ plans argue that the operation will have a major impact on the climate and wildlife.

The site is located in a remote area of ​​Alaska’s North Slope and can produce up to 180,000 barrels of oil per day.

The US Bureau of Land Management estimates that this means that over 30 years it will be associated with the release of 278 million tons of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, the equivalent of adding two million cars to US roads every year.

Today’s approval came a day after the Biden administration imposed restrictions on oil and gas drilling at 64,750 sq. km of Alaska and the Arctic Ocean, which is “a kind of compromise with activists” who oppose new developments, the BBC comments.

More than a million letters of protest were sent to the White House, and the campaign against mining on Change.org garnered more than three million signatures.

“This is a wrong move that will destroy our wildlife, land, communities and climate,” Sierra Club, an environmental charity, wrote on Monday.

Sonny Ahk, a young Inuipat anti-mining activist from Alaska, said the development would bolster Arctic oil and gas production for another 30 years and serve as a “catalyst” to expand similar businesses in the Arctic.

“While out-of-state executives are making record profits, local residents are having to deal with the devastating effects of massive mining operations,” he said.

All three politicians representing Alaska in Congress, including a Democrat, insisted on the approval of the project, considering it a necessary investment for the people of the region. They argued that this would help increase domestic energy production and reduce the country’s dependence on foreign oil.

“It was the right decision for Alaska and our country,” said ConocoPhillips CEO Ryan Lance. The American energy giant, which is already the largest producer of crude oil in Alaska, will improve energy security, create good jobs and benefit Alaska Native communities, he said.

Source: BBC