John Leshy, who was a top Interior Department lawyer in the Clinton administration, said Biden’s climate goals aren’t the only factor in an environmental review process that agencies must follow. Allowing the drilling plan to go forward marks a major breach of Biden’s campaign promise to stop new oil drilling on federal lands, they say.īiden understands the existential threat of climate change, “but he is approving a project that derails his own climate goals,’’ said Dillen, whose group vowed legal action to block the project. Haaland defended the Biden administration’s record on climate change, saying, “I am confident that we are on the right path, even if it’s not always a straight line.”Ĭlimate activists remained outraged that Biden approved the project, which they say puts his climate legacy at risk. Because ConocoPhillips has held leases in the area for decades, Haaland said officials “had limited decision space” to block the project but focused on minimizing its footprint. She described Willow as “a difficult and complex issue that was inherited” from earlier administrations. Haaland was notably silent on the project, which she had opposed as a New Mexico congresswoman before becoming Interior secretary two years ago, until releasing a video Monday evening. The order, one of the most significant of Interior Secretary Deb Haaland’s tenure, was not signed by her but rather by her deputy, Tommy Beaudreau, who grew up in Alaska and briefed state lawmakers on the project Monday.
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