BLM recommends approval of climate bomb Willow oil project
At 23 million acres, the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska is our largest tract of public land.
Bob Wick/BLM
The federal Bureau of Land Management today released a final supplemental environmental impact statement on ConocoPhillips’ Willow Master Development Plan, recommending approval of a huge oil-development project that would lead to the release of 280 million metric tons of greenhouse gases over a 30-year period.
In addition to undermining President Biden’s climate promises by producing tens of millions of barrels of oil per year, Willow – if given final approval in a formal record of decision that could come in as little as 30 days – would negatively impact air quality and subsistence resources for local communities near the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska.
In response to today’s announcement from BLM, The Wilderness Society released the following statement from Alaska Senior Regional Director Karlin Itchoak:
“At a time when it is critical that the world move away from fossil fuels to address the growing climate crisis, this is an unconscionable decision. Willow is a carbon bomb that would accelerate climate change while doing nothing to help the general public. The only beneficiary would be oil companies and their shareholders. Local villages and the global climate would suffer.
“No other oil and gas project has greater potential to undermine the Biden administration’s climate goals,” Itchoak added. “It is essential that the president recognize Willow’s destructive potential and prevent BLM from granting final approval in a record of decision.”
U.S. District Court of Alaska Judge Sharon Gleason in 2021 ruled that the Trump administration failed to evaluate the project’s negative impacts on wildlife and the impact that burning so much oil would have on the world’s climate. The ruling voided permits that had been issued during Trump’s term.
Since then, the BLM and ConocoPhillips have worked to revise a plan for the $8 billion development project.
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The Wilderness Society is the leading conservation organization uniting people to care for America’s wild places. Founded in 1935, and now with more than one million members and supporters, The Wilderness Society has led the effort to permanently protect 111 million acres of wilderness and to ensure sound management of our shared national lands. www.wilderness.org.
