the willow project

If you don't know what is going on this is for you,

This post is going to be about:

The Willow Project.

what is it and why is it horrible

What is the Willow Project?

The willow project takes place in Alaska, and it is a very controversial topic. The idea is that ConocoPhillips' (an American corporation in the oil business) wants to do a massive Willow Oil drill on the North Slope in the National Petroleum Reserve, which is owned by the Federal Government (this idea was proposed originally in 2020 and approved by the Trump administration). This plan aims to hold almost 600 million barrels of oil. These tonnes of oil wouldn't even reach the market for a couple more years, as the project hasn't even been created; meaning that this part of Alaska, home to wildlife and ecosystems, would be holding millions of barrels of oil without any necessary financial aid for years later. In addition, this project would create up to 1/3 of the coal emissions made by coal plants across the country. Disregarding the emissions created, this project could and most definitely will cause huge gas leaks which could increase our environmental issues as a whole.

But why is it so detrimental?

If the Willow produces just as much oil as it is predicted to over the 30-year period, the amount of oil that would be released would be equal to almost 277 million tonnes of CO2 (carbon dioxide) emissions into the atmosphere. This project could produce almost 180,000 barrels of oil a day, which is 1.5% of the total US oil production. This might not seem like a lot, but Biden when presenting his Campaign had said that there would be "no new drilling" and that by 2050 their net emissions should and would be at 0, with this project that would be impossible. With this project, there would be more than 278 million tonnes of greenhouse gases over the course of 30 years.

The two sides:

There are 2 sides to this project, one that supports it, and the other who are creating lawsuits against it.

who supports it and why?

Those who support this project are very small but influential. They are the Alaskan lawmakers from both sides and the Arctic Slope Regional Corporation.

The reason there are supporters in the first place is that it will create

- union jobs

- economic benefits

- resource benefits

- decrease American dependence on foreign supplies for energy

- energy source

But the question is, is it really worth killing all that wildlife for it?

Was it approved?

Yes, this project got approved by the Biden Administration on March 6th, 2023. He approved of it after stating that they would limit the drilling in some of the other areas of Alaska and the Arctic ocean. He approved only 3 drill sites which are almost 199 cumulative wells. As stated for their defense, Deb Haaland [US secretary] stated that the Willow was "a difficult and complex issue that was inherited" from admins before them (Trump's admin). She had also stated how there was "limited decision space" to cancel the project as ConocoPhillips already had multiple leases over the areas for years before.

It was mainly approved because there were legal bindings towards it. ConocoPhillips as said before holds multiple leases which gives them the legal right to drill, meaning if Biden were to cancel the leases, not only would there be a difficult court case, but if they were to lose the government would have millions of dollars in fees alone with no actual stopping of the drilling.

Are there any legal actions taking place against the approval?

Climate activists were justifiably angry at this approval as it put the climate of the world at risk. So, as of now, 2 lawsuits have been issued against this project. Members from the Alaska Wilderness League filed a lawsuit last Tuesday, going off on the grounds that the sole climate considerations stated by Biden during his campaign, are being contradicted by approving this project. The second case was issued by a coalition of environmental groups, including but not limited to The Natural Resources Defense Council, Greenspace, and Center for Biological Diversity, who stated that the department had finalized on this topic without addressing prominent issues that were outlined in a separate lawsuit in 2021.

This lawsuit has stated:

"Developing a massive new Arctic oil formation is a threat to the global climate and an already dramatically warming arctic region"

Why is this project so controversial?

Environmentalists have stated that approving this project, and not fighting for what has been stated in Biden's campaign previously is a betrayal. They urge for the rejection of the project and the continuation of the net-zero emissions statement.