Washington, D.C. – Build Back Fossil Free, a coalition of over 1,200 groups working to pressure President Biden to declare a climate emergency and stop the federal approval of all new fossil fuel projects, welcomed the Biden Administration’s decision today to cancel lease sales in Alaska and the Gulf of Mexico, and pledged to keep up pressure on the administration to deliver on its promise to stop all new fossil fuel development on public lands and waters.
The proposed lease sales in the Cook Inlet in Alaska and Gulf of Mexico would have fueled the ongoing climate emergency and had a direct impact on communities in the region, especially Indigenous, Black, low-wealth communities and communities of the global majority who have been historically targeted by Big Oil and are already facing the disproportionate impacts of pollution and climate chaos. These communities – including the Dena’ina, Alutiiq, and Yupik people of the Cook Inlet – led the fight to stop these lease sales and deserve credit for today’s victory.
Climate scientists and the International Energy Agency have been clear that any new fossil fuel development is incompatible with keeping global warming below 1.5 or 2 degrees celsius, a goal that the Biden Administration has repeatedly committed to. According to the UN Secretary General, “Investing in new fossil fuels infrastructure is moral and economic madness.”
Despite today’s announcement, the Biden Administration has failed to deliver the scale of climate action promised and broken its clear promise to stop all new drilling on public lands and waters. Last November, the Administration hosted the largest offshore lease sale in US history, only to have the sale invalidated by a federal judge. Onshore, the administration still plans to start selling oil and gas leases to Big Oil on 144,000 acres of public lands in nine states.
Build Back Fossil Free is currently pushing the administration to cancel these leases and all new drilling on public lands, as well as to announce no new drilling under the upcoming 5-year offshore leasing plan.
Rapidly ending our reliance on fossil fuels is the only way to protect the public from high gas and home heating prices. Big Oil companies are currently raking in record profits at the expense of the American people by intentionally throttling supply and gouging consumers at the pump. Handing over more leases on public lands and waters won’t do anything to reduce prices, it will only deepen our dependence on fossil fuels and further enrich fossil fuel corporations.
As climate disasters intensify, and the War in Ukraine and other global conflicts highlight the dangers of our dependence on fossil fuels, Build Back Fossil Free will continue pressure to the Biden Administration to declare a climate emergency, end the federal approval of all new fossil fuel projects, and usher in a renewable energy future that works for all.
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Statements from Build Back Fossil Free coalition members:
“I’m glad Cook Inlet belugas won’t be forced to face even more oil drilling in their only habitats, but much more must be done to protect these endangered whales from offshore drilling,” said Kristen Monsell, Oceans legal director at the Center for Biological Diversity. “To save imperiled marine life and protect coastal communities and our climate from pollution, we need to end new leasing and phase out existing drilling.”
“While this is a step in the right direction, President Biden has a long way to go to fulfill his campaign promises and deliver on his commitments to bold climate action,” said Thomas Meyer, national organizing manager at Food & Water Watch. “Instead of bending to pressure from Big Oil, Biden should use every tool at his disposal to end the era of fossil fuels and usher us into a clean energy future.”
“This is a major win for coastal communities, ecosystems, and the climate. Communities in the Arctic and the Gulf Coast have already been subjected to the threat of offshore drilling disasters for far too long, and suffer disproportionate harms from this dangerous and polluting activity, as well as worsening extreme weather caused by fossil fuel-driven climate change,” said Sierra Club Lands Protection Director Athan Manuel. “At a time when we need to be rapidly transitioning away from dirty oil and gas to meet our climate commitments and avert the worst of the climate crisis, the last thing we need is to sell off even more of our waters to the fossil fuel industry. We applaud the Biden administration for taking this critical action to protect communities and climate this year, and now we urge them to finish the job by committing to no new offshore drilling leases, period.”
“Oil and gas companies fuel the world’s biggest crises: war and climate change. Contrary to what oil companies would have you believe, these now-canceled lease sales would have done nothing to address the pain at the pump. We’re already producing more oil and gas than ever before and still seeing skyrocketing gasoline prices–and soaring profits for oil companies. Meanwhile, the oil and gas industry is careening us towards climate disaster. A peaceful, livable, and safe future depends on the Biden administration halting all fossil fuel expansion and quickly transitioning to renewable energy.” said Ashley Thomson, senior climate campaigner at Greenpeace USA.
“The proposed lease sales in the Cook Inlet in Alaska and the Gulf of Mexico would have perpetuated climate change, caused local ecosystem destruction, and threatened the wellbeing of coastal communities. While the Administration delivered a win for people and the environment this time, President Biden still has a responsibility to take a stand against Big Oil by preventing all new fossil fuel leases on public lands and phasing out existing drilling to limit warming to 1.5℃,” said Zanagee Artis, Executive Director of Zero Hour
“This is good news. Here in the Texas Gulf Coast we have heavy industry wanting to expand their dirty projects offshore & on our beautiful coast in so called Corpus Christi Texas. Several offshore projects have been halted due to groups in Texas challenging these corporations permits and EIS (Environmental Impact Statements).
To mention one in particular project off the coast of Corpus Texas, MARAD and the Coast Guard issued a stop clock on the review process on the application for the Bluewater Deepwater Port after push back from several coalition groups. The stop clock was issued on April 14th 2022, via a letter to Phillips 66 with several information requests related to NEPA and the Clean Water Act. This means a delay in the application review process for Phillips 66 and a small victory for us.
The cancellation of these leases will help prevent these projects from destroying land and water, which affect predominantly, black, Indigenous, and people of color. It is also very good to hear that our comrades and relatives in other areas will have their waters protected as well” said Love Sanchez Co Founder of Indigenous Peoples of the Coastal Bend (Karankawa Kadla Tribe).
“It’s absurd that we are even having to fight these fossil fuel projects in 2022. The U.S. government has known for decades that fossil fuels contribute to hastening catastrophic climate change. Now that we’re living in a climate chaotic time, with drought, floods, uncontrollable wildfires, extreme storms, and forced migration even within the United States lower 48 and Alaska, it’s insane that the federal government doesn’t put a 100% stop on all fossil fuel industrial projects and related infrastructure projects. This is a sloth shrug. We need kangaroo leaps,” says Maura Stephens, a cofounder of Frackbusters and of the Coalition to Protect New York.
