Alaska protections announced as Biden reportedly set to approve huge oil project
Joe Biden has announced new steps to ban oil and gas drilling in the Arctic Ocean and limit onshore drilling in Alaska, as his administration reportedly prepares to approve a huge new oilfield in the state.
Plans announced Sunday night will bar drilling in nearly 3m acres of the Beaufort Sea – closing it off from oil exploration – and limit drilling in more than 13m acres in a vast swath of land known as the National Petroleum Reserve — Alaska.
The moves come as regulators prepare to announce a final decision on the $8bn Willow project, a controversial oil drilling plan pushed by ConocoPhillips in the petroleum reserve. Climate activists have rallied against the project, calling it a “carbon bomb” that would be a betrayal of Biden’s campaign pledges to curb new oil and gas drilling.
Meanwhile, Alaska lawmakers, unions and Indigenous communities have pressured Biden to approve the project, saying it would bring much-needed jobs and billions of dollars in taxes and mitigation funds to the vast, snow- and ice-covered region nearly 600 miles (965km) from Anchorage. Senator Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, called Willow “one of the biggest, most important resource development projects in our state’s history.”
Biden’s decision on Willow will be one of his most consequential climate decisions and comes as he gears up for a likely reelection bid in 2024. A decision to approve Willow risks alienating young voters who have urged stronger climate action by the White House and flooded social media with demands to stop the Willow project. Approval also could spark protests similar to those against the failed Keystone XL oil pipeline during the Obama administration.
Rejection of the project would meet strong resistance from Alaska’s bipartisan
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