FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 7, 2021
DENVER—President Biden today visited hurricane-damaged communities in New York and New Jersey, seeing the effects of storms that are increasingly fueled by human-caused climate change. After the tour, the president focused on the need for infrastructure investments to address the costs of climate change and move America to a renewable energy economy, saying “We have to take bold action now to tackle the accelerating effects of climate change.”
The Center for Western Priorities released the following statement from Executive Director Jennifer Rokala:
“President Biden is correct when he says we must take urgent action to address the climate crisis—but that obligation starts with him. While the president is encouraging Congress to act, his administration is about to hold an offshore drilling fire sale that could produce a billion barrels of oil, and is preparing to offer rights to hundreds of thousands of acres of public land to oil companies in Wyoming and Colorado.
“At the same time, the White House is sitting on an Interior Department report that could kick-start the lengthy process to overhaul the broken and rigged system that oversees oil and gas drilling on public lands. It’s a system that has exacerbated the climate crisis America now faces, and his administration is in a position to fix it, with or without Congress’s help.
“If President Biden is serious about acting on climate, the ball is in his court. America is watching.”
LEARN MORE
- Biden offshore oil sale could produce 1B barrels of oil [E&E News]
- Biden oil and gas leasing pause will end in Wyoming next year [Casper Star-Tribune]
- Wyoming drilling rig count triples during Biden leasing pause [Wyofile]
- Storymap: Western public lands threatened by drilling under Biden [Westwise]