Friends of the Earth Slams Biden Approval of Climate Disaster Willow Project
WASHINGTON – Today, the Biden Administration’s Bureau of Land Management announced its approval of the ConocoPhillips Willow Project in the Western Arctic, the largest oil extraction project ever proposed on federal lands. The Record of Decision (ROD) would allow for the construction of three “wells” or drill sites, securing Willow as a major oil hub in Alaska and polluter for the fossil fuel industry. The approval comes despite unrelenting opposition from national and Alaska-based environmental groups who demand that President Biden reject the project, which contradicts with the Administration’s climate goals.
Raena Garcia, Fossil Fuels and Lands Campaigner for Friends of the Earth, issued the following statement:
President Biden’s approval of the Willow project is a colossal and reprehensible stain on his environmental legacy. Forcing a massive climate disaster project onto a region already plagued by climate change is nothing short of tragic for the planet and Alaska’s communities. While the Administration sides with Big Oil and exploitation of our public lands, we will keep fighting until this project is stopped dead in its tracks.