In response to reporting in Bloomberg that the Biden administration is poised to authorize ConocoPhillips’ Willow Project, Evergreen Action Executive Director Lena Moffitt released the following statement:

“If Bloomberg’s reporting is accurate, the Biden administration is about to take an unacceptable and unnecessary step backward on its own climate and environmental justice commitments by approving ConocoPhillips’ Willow Project. President Biden ran and won on the most ambitious climate agenda in American history, and that agenda committed to ending new leasing for fossil fuel extraction projects on public lands. There is still time to make the right choice—according to Bloomberg’s reporting, the final Record of Decision will be released next week. President Biden can still stay on track to deliver on his commitments to the American people and reject the Willow Project.

“Advocates around the country have underscored the detrimental climate and environmental justice impacts of Willow, leading to mounting public concern online. Yet in the face of it all, President Biden and his administration would be giving the stamp of approval to the largest fossil fuel extraction project currently proposed on public lands—caving to Big Oil and selling out our climate. The people living alongside Willow in this fragile Arctic ecosystem would be the ones to bear the burden of toxic fossil fuel pollution as a result of this decision—and many have been consistently raising concerns about the project. There’s still time to make the right decision.”

###