Climate Activists Sound Alarm as Biden Weighs Controversial Alaska Oil Project

As the US seeks to boost domestic oil production, the Biden administration has re-examined the $6 billion prospect of a crude oil producer seeking to bring multiple drilling sites and hundreds of miles of pipelines and roads to the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska, a near-23 million-acre area of public land home to Native groups and wildlife.

Climate activists are urging US President Joe Biden’s administration to remember its commitment to combating climate change as the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) reconsiders ConocoPhillips’ Trump-era pursuit of expanding oil infrastructure in Alaska.

Per the review, the major drilling project can produce more than 180,000 barrels of oil per day, amounting to around 629 million barrels over a 30-year period. However, the project would add between 278 million and 287 million metric tons of carbon dioxide within those three decades.

The administration examined several options within the review, including a ‘no action’ case that analyzed a potential rejection to the crude oil producer’s bid.

A final decision will be announced after the agency takes public comments for 45 days.

In this March 11, 2020, file photo provided by the Bureau of Land Management, shows the proposed route of the Keystone XL oil pipeline where it crosses into the United States from Canada in Phillips County, Mont.

© AP Photo / Al Nash

While ConocoPhillips claims Willow is a “strong example of environmentally and socially responsible development that offers extensive public benefits,” many have argued that the plan, which proposes five drilling sites in Alaska’s North Slope, would be contrary to Biden’s pledge to cut greenhouse gases in half by 2030.

“We cannot allow ConocoPhillips to destroy this pristine region–which is already warming three times faster than the rest of the world due to climate change,” said Alex Taurel, conservation program director for the League of Conservation Voters.

Environmental activists have also highlighted the potential harm to migratory birds, polar bears, caribou, and other native Alaskan wildlife.

The reserve currently boasts two drilling sites–both run by ConocoPhillips.

“We are disappointed to see BLM moving forward with considering the Willow plan when it is so clearly inconsistent with the goals this administration has set to transition away from fossil fuels and avert the worst consequences of the climate crisis,” Earthjustice attorney Jeremy Lieb said in a statement.

“This single project, which will release a staggering amount of climate pollution, threatens to send us dangerously off track by undercutting urgently needed measures to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions.”

Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), a longtime critic of the Bureau’s handling of the Willow project, said she will “continue to hold them accountable” for their environmental commitments ahead of construction, which may begin as early as winter.

This comes less than a year after an Obama-appointed judge ruled against the Trump-era approval, stating in her opinion that the “arbitrary and capricious” report failed to include figures on greenhouse gas emissions associated with the $6 billion project.

The court also pointed out the lack of consideration for wildlife such as polar bears.

The Biden administration did not appeal the decision, although it did support the Willow project’s Trump-era approval.