ConocoPhillips’ Willow oil project in the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska (NPR-A), US, has been hit by lawsuits again by environmental groups, which are challenging the recent Record of Decision (ROD) issued by the Department of the Interior (DOI).
Earthjustice, on behalf of conservation groups, alongside the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) has filed a lawsuit on Wednesday opposing the decision of the Biden administration. A day earlier, Sierra Club and five other groups collectively filed a lawsuit on similar grounds.
A separate legal challenge has been filed by the Trustees for Alaska environmental organisation on behalf of Sovereign Iñupiat for a Living Arctic and conservation groups.
Earthjustice said that the approval of the Willow oil project undermines the promises of President Joe Biden to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions by 50% by the end of this decade and transition the US to clean energy.
ConocoPhillips aims to produce 180,000 barrels of oil per day at peak from the project, which has been reduced to three drill site pads from the original number of five.
Earthjustice claimed that the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) ROD greenlights the desired blueprint of ConocoPhillips while ignoring appeals from nearly 5.6 million people. Among those who are opposing the project are the leadership from the adjacent village of Nuiqsut, said the environmental organisation.
According to Earthjustice, the Willow project would still add nearly 260 million metric tons of carbon emissions into the air during the next 30 years. Furthermore, it will lead to irreversible harm to the environment, Arctic wildlife, and nearby population who rely on the land for survival, said the group.
Earthjustice Alaska regional office deputy managing attorney Erik Grafe said: “There is no question that the administration possessed the legal authority to stop Willow — yet it chose not to.
“It greenlit this carbon bomb without adequately assessing its climate impacts or weighing its options to limit the damage and say no. The climate crisis is one of the greatest challenges we face, and President Biden has promised to do all he can to meet the moment.”
