Capital disappointment This is the sentiment expressed by the conservation and climate protection movements across the planet after World War II. U.S. President Joe Biden’s decision to authorize ConocoPhillips’ Willow oil extraction project, which will allow the extraction of 600 million barrels of crude oil over the next 30 years. The project is located in a region. Northern Alaska’s wilderness, at its heart Arctic and in a local residents have repeatedly voiced their opposition to the project and were actually confident that Biden’s promises would shelve the project. That didn’t happen.
When Joe Biden ran for election in 2020, one of his campaign promises was: “There will be no more oil drilling on federal soil, period”. Three years was enough to forget that promise and give Willow approval, this project is notably bloody because of its location, but it’s also instead of curtailing its activities, it gives more wings to the oil industry.
The effect on the floor will be remarkable: More than 200 oil wells, miles of pipelines, an airport, processing plants and other industrial facilities are in the middle of nowhere. And on top of all that, at the heart of the planet’s fastest-warming region: the North Pole, where all the alarm has been set by scientists.
Not surprisingly, under these conditions. experts and conservationists put their hands on their heads. But so do some Democratic leaders who feel outright betrayed.
“Springboard for further development in the region”
As soon as the decision is made, this Tuesday, Six North American conservation groups, starting with the Alaska Wilderness League or the mighty Sierra Club, have filed a lawsuit, thinking this project “could be a springboard.” Towards further development in an ecologically sensitive area,” reports Reuters agency.
“Management Biden didn’t listen to science, “Nor is the voice of the indigenous leaders in the region and the millions of people in the United States who advocate the preservation of air quality, natural resources and the global climate by rejecting willow,” said Karlin Itchoak, spokesperson for The Wilderness Society.
Environmental law firm Earthjustice also announced that it will file its own lawsuit.
Greenpeace, Fridays for Future, the Sunrise Movement or the Climate Justice Alliance are other organizations that have voiced their anger. “The US government has relied on hasty and inaccurate analyzes to assess the impacts of the giant ConocoPhillips project on local communities, soil, water and animals in the Arctic, as well as the global climate,” Greenpeace said.
The project that the organizer wants to be even bigger, It will include a $7,000 million investment and will generate between $2,500 jobs and $8,000 to $17,000 million in revenue for the federal vault, according to the company.
According to the government and the company, fossil fuels cannot be completely dispensed with if the normal functioning of the economy and public infrastructures is to be guaranteed.
Biden tries to quell protests
To quell the protests, the Biden Administration explained: cut off the oil company’s claims and announced an additional 1.2 million hectares of protection of the Beaufort Sea in the Arctic Ocean.oil and gas drilling will be banned forever.
The White House said in a statement that these actions Biden adheres to the “most aggressive” climate agenda in the history of the United States. According to the government, the country has “become a magnet for renewable energy generation”, implying “record” investments in it.
Biden also made sure his decisions were valid. They will help lower energy prices and inflation.
However, ecologists take all this into account. “a simple green face lift”and in any case, they affirm that the future of the planet is above the economic situation of a country or a given moment.
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Contact details of the environment department: [email protected]