Joe Biden Approves Alaska Oil Project After Conservation Announcement

A massive oil-drilling project on Alaska's petroleum-rich North Slope was approved by the Joe Biden administration on Monday, drawing immediate criticism for going against the president's promises to mitigate climate change.

The administration had announced the day before that they would restrict drilling in other parts of Alaska and the Arctic Ocean to conserve resources.

The Bureau of Land Management has blessed ConocoPhillips' massive Willow project, which will see the green light for up to 199 wells over three separate drill sites. Meanwhile, the proposed other two drill locations will be denied, AP reports.

The ruling has been praised as "the right decision for Alaska and our nation" by ConocoPhillips's chairman and chief executive officer, Ryan Lance.

The Houston-based business will abandon over 68,000 acres of current contracts in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska.

Instead of signing the order herself, Interior Secretary Deb Haaland had her Alaska-born deputy, Tommy Beaudreau, address Alaska legislators on the project on Monday.

Before posting a video on Monday night, Haaland had remained unusually quiet about the project, despite opposing it as a New Mexico representative before becoming Interior secretary two years ago.

As for the Biden administration's climate change record, Haaland supported it by saying, "I am confident that we are on the right path, even if it's not only a straight line."

Climate activists were furious with Biden for approving the project, claiming it would compromise his legacy in the field.

They said that with the approval, Biden is breaking a significant campaign pledge of halting oil drilling on federal lands.

Environmental groups are anticipated to file lawsuits, so Monday's announcement is unlikely to be the final word.

Joe Biden's Aggressive Climate Change Agenda Before Approving Huge Alaska Oil Project

It was revealed that 16 million acres of federal land and water in Alaska would be off-limits to future fossil fuel drilling by the Biden administration Sunday night.

The National Petroleum Reserve is a North Slope Borough, Alaska region designated by Congress for resource development. The Department of the Interior announced that it had begun the regulatory process to "provide maximum protection" for the NPR's 13 million acres.

A further 2.8 million acres in the Beaufort Sea, which is in the Arctic Ocean off the northern coast of Alaska, were also removed from oil and gas leasing by President Biden's order, said Fox News.

The Department of the Interior issued a statement praising Biden for continuing to deliver on the most aggressive climate agenda in history with these measures.

He also said that with Biden's efforts, the United States is now a desirable location for producing renewable energy and creating related jobs.

"He secured record investments in climate resilience and environmental justice," he added.

The Willow Project

President Joe Biden has given his blessing to a massive Alaska oil project to boost the local economy and create thousands of jobs, but environmental activists have vehemently opposed the Willow project because of its potential adverse effects on the climate and wildlife.

Meanwhile, Biden, who committed to tackling climate change through robust action at the presidential level, has given the green light to a project that has been called a "carbon bomb" because the Willow project is not only about the environment but also about politics and the law, BBC noted.

No more drilling on public lands, period" was one of Joe Biden's campaign promises as he ran for president in 2020.

Green Democrats and climate activists skeptical of Biden's record on the topic were won over by his statement.

Under legal pressure, though, the administration said last year it would sell drilling leases, going back on a campaign vow not to do so.

The White House will likely claim that the judiciary also affected the Willow decision.

The oil corporation ConocoPhillips has owned the lease since 1999, and if their intentions had been rejected, they would have had a worthy cause to appeal.

Aware that the project cannot be justified only in terms of climate change, the Biden administration has decided to proceed.

No new oil or gas drilling should be allowed, according to the International Energy Agency, if the world wants to reduce the increase in global temperatures to less than 1.5C.

Consequently, the White House has announced new prohibitions on oil and gas leasing in the Arctic Ocean and across Alaska to mitigate the effects of the Willow permission. However, most environmentalists are skeptical about this trade-off.

Meanwhile, social media users protested the Willow project in unprecedented numbers, with over three million people signing a petition against it.

President Joe Biden is now putting at risk the support of many young people who supported him in considerable numbers in the 2020 election by approving the massive Alaska oil project.

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This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Bert Hoover

WATCH: Biden approves Willow project in Alaska - From 9NEWS