The holidays come early for Big Oil as Congress agrees to lift crude oil export ban

WASHINGTON D.C. – Late last night, Republicans in Congress struck a deal to hand Big Oil and the Koch brothers their biggest legislative priority of the year and lift the longstanding ban on crude oil exports. With the ban lifted, Las estimaciones sugieren que las exportaciones de petróleo aumentarían a 1,8 millones de barriles por día en 2017.

Marcie Keever, directora del Programa Océanos y Buques de Amigos de la Tierra, ofrece la siguiente declaración en respuesta:

This unacceptable repeal of the crude oil export ban will cause disastrous impacts from the fossil fuel industry. The repeal will increase fracking, putting communities at even greater risk of air and water pollution and earthquakes. The escalation in crude by rail and ship will increase the frequency of exploding trains and oil spills across the country and in international waters. And lifting the ban will open the floodgates to more crude oil extraction and the burning of petroleum products, which will worsen the impacts of climate disruption.

A permanent victory for Big Oil is a poor trade for a temporary lifeline for renewables. Dirty, dangerous fossil fuels need to be kept in the ground and liberalizing our export policy is exactly the wrong direction to take.

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Contacto experto: Marcie Keever, (510) 900-3144, [email protected]
Contacto de comunicaciones: Kate Colwell, (202) 222-0744, [email protected]