The Willow Project Would Be a Disaster For Climate

BLM Should Go Back To The Drawing Board After Rushed & Incomplete Process

In response to the Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) for ConocoPhillips’ Willow Master Development Project released today by the Department of Interior’s (DOI) Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Evergreen Action Chief of Staff Lena Moffitt released the following: 

“The flawed analysis released from DOI tonight only reinforces what we already knew: ConocoPhillips' Willow Project is nothing more than a corrupt cash grab by Big Oil at the expense of the people and the planet. As the largest oil extraction project currently proposed on U.S. federal lands, the Willow Project would cause irreparable damage to the Arctic’s already strained ecosystems while threatening the health and way of life of local Alaska Native communities. On top of that, it would do nothing to combat high gas prices in the near or mid-term and would only increase our dependence on fossil fuels and exacerbate the worst impacts of the climate crisis. Giving the Willow Project a stamp of approval after this rushed and incomplete review process could be the kiss of death for any chance at meeting President Biden’s climate commitments. 

“ConocoPhillips has made clear that the Willow Project is a big step in their plan to build what they’ve described in their own words as ‘the next great Alaska hub.’ They’ve pulled out all the stops to rush this review process, going as far as understating the planned size of the project in the BLM review and covering up new information about how thawing permafrost is making oil and gas extraction in the Arctic riskier than ever before. This fundamentally flawed process can not and should not be the basis for advancing the largest proposed oil extraction project threatening our public lands, climate and communities. It’s time for BLM to go back to the drawing board and do a full review process that reflects the real threat posed by the Willow Project.”

Evergreen previously examined how ConocoPhillips’ Willow Project is a disaster-in-the-making for the climate, environmental justice, and the ecology of the Arctic. You can read the full analysis here.


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