A federal judge in the US has nullified the Department of Interior (DOI)’s oil and gas lease sale in the Gulf of Mexico (GoM) under Lease Sale 257 due to concerns over climate change.
In the auction announced in September 2021, the DOI through the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) had offered nearly 15,135 unleased blocks, that were spread over 80 million acres.
Last November, BOEM said that Lease Sale 257 had attracted bids worth $191m.
However, the D.C. District Court ruled that the DOI did not accurately reveal and take into account the greenhouse gas emissions that would emerge from the lease sale, which breaches a bedrock environmental law.
The court’s ruling is in response to a lawsuit filed against the auction by Earthjustice, an environmental organisation.
Earthjustice’s lawsuit alleged that the 2017 environmental analysis relied upon by the Biden administration to undertake Lease Sale 257 is seriously flawed.
According to the lawsuit, Lease Sale 257 will enable the production of up to 1.12 billion barrels and 4.4 trillion cubic feet of fossil fuels over the coming 50 years.
The combustion of the fossil fuels for energy and transportation is the primary human activity that releases carbon dioxide and contributes to a warming climate, said Earthjustice and others in the complaint.
Earthjustice said that the decision of the D.C. District Court held the DOI accountable for completely underestimating the climate effects and risks to the Gulf of Mexico communities before holding what is the largest oil and gas lease sale in American history.
Earthjustice Senior Attorney Brettny Hardy said: “We simply cannot continue to make investments in the fossil fuel industry to the peril of our communities and increasingly warming planet.
“This administration must meet this critical moment and honour the campaign promises President Biden made by stopping offshore leasing once and for all. Interior should use its next 5-year leasing plan to protect our coastal communities and public waters and offer no new offshore leases.”
