US: Biden approves controversial Willow oil drilling project
US President Joe Biden came under fire on Monday after his administration announced approval of a $6 billion (€5.59 billion) oil drilling project in the state of Alaska, despite the president’s pledges. to promote clean energy.
The White House has given approval to US energy giant ConocoPhillips to drill at three sites on Alaska’s North Slope – the largest stretch of undisturbed land in the country – while refusing permission for a fourth site.
The decision came after pressure from environmental groups to keep Biden on his pledge not to approve new leases for oil and gas projects on federal land.
Earthjustice President Abigail Dillen said, “We are too late in the climate crisis to pass massive oil and gas projects that directly undermine the new clean economy that the Biden administration has pledged to promote.”
“We know that President Biden understands the existential climate threat, yet he is passing a bill that derails his own climate goals.”
How many barrels will Project Willow produce?
The so-called Willow Project had been approved by former President Donald Trump at the end of his term, but was blocked by a judge who asked for the approval to be reviewed.
The Bureau of Land Management conducted an environmental impact analysis in February, in which it gave the green light to the three drill sites.
The bill has been pushed by lawmakers in Alaska, as well as other stakeholders. Production is expected to peak at 180,000 barrels of oil per day and a total of around 576 million barrels over a 30-year lifespan.
Sierra Club Executive Director Ben Jealous said: “Willow will be one of the largest oil and gas operations on public land in the country, and the carbon pollution it will release into the air will have devastating effects on our communities, wildlife and climate. , “
“We will suffer the consequences of this for decades to come,” added Jealous.
Environmentalists denounce hypocrisy
The Biden administration also announced a series of new protections for Alaska’s land and waters.
They build on Obama-era protections and would put nearly three million acres of the Beaufort Sea in the Arctic Ocean “indefinitely off-limits” for drilling.
The Bureau of Land Management also said that by reducing the size of the land proposed by ConocoPhillips, it was decreasing the project’s freshwater use and avoiding the need for 11 miles (17.7 kilometers) of road, 20 miles of pipeline and 133 acres of gravel. .
Environmental advocates have criticized Biden for the hypocrisy of announcing environmental protections while at the same time approving drilling sites that will release more than 250 million metric tons of carbon emissions over three decades – according to the Sierra Club.
Source: DW
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