Current work in wildlife, rivers, public lands, and climate

Tuesday, March 29, 2016
Historic Petition Urges Obama to Halt All New Offshore Fossil Fuel Leases

More Than 45 Organizations Back Historic Legal Petition That Takes Aim at Ocean-drilling Damage to Climate, Wildlife, Communities
Contact: Tim Ream (541) 531-8541 tream@wildearthguardians.org

Additional Contacts:

Miyoko Sakashita, Center for Biological Diversity, (510) 844-7108, miyoko@biologicaldiversity.org
Marissa Knodel, Friends of the Earth, (202) 222-0729, MKnodel@foe.org
Virali Modi-Parekh, Rainforest Action Network, (510) 747-8476, virali@ran.org
Tina Posterli, Waterkeeper Alliance, (212)747-0622 x 113, tposteri@waterkeeper.org
David Turnbull, Oil Change International, (212) 518-9029, david@priceofoil.org

WASHINGTON—More than 45 climate, conservation,indigenous and coastal organizations representing the major coastal regions ofthe United States filed a legal petition today calling on President Obama toalign U.S. energy policy with his climate goals by issuing an executive orderto end new oil and gas lease auctions in federally controlled oceans—including the Arctic, Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico.

The order, under the authority of the OuterContinental Shelf Lands Act, would make federally managed waters that have notalready been leased to industry unavailable for new leases. Halting new fossilfuel leases on more than 1 billion acres off America’s coasts would keep up to62 billion tons of carbon emissions in the ground—the pollution equivalent ofmore than 16,000 coal-fired power plants.

The order would be a step toward limiting globalwarming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, consistent with the2015 Paris Agreement, by preventing the leasing of new offshore oil and gas. Tostay within the 1.5 degree limit, the vast majority of known fossil fuels mustremain unburned and kept safely in the ground.

The petition, led by the Center for BiologicalDiversity, comes on the heels of the administration’s proposed five-year plangoverning future federal offshore oil and gas leasing. The proposal wouldexpand leasing in the Arctic and Gulf of Mexico, risking more disastrousspills, putting wildlife and communities in harm’s way and deepening U.S.dependence on the fossil fuels that are driving the global climate crisis.

Despite its name, leases outlined in the five-yearprogram would allow for oil and gas production over the next 40 to 70years, long past the point that scientists say fossil fuels should bephased out. Continuing to rely on fossil fuels decades into the futureundermines a rapid and essential transition to renewable energy. Thepetition calls on President Obama to align federal leasingpolicy with U.S. climate change goals while promoting a rapidtransition to a clean energy economy, starting with a halt in offshoreleasing.

Groups joining today’s petition are the Center forBiological Diversity, Food and Water Watch, Friends of the Earth, Greenpeace,Oil Change International, Rainforest Action Network, Waterkeeper Alliance,Alaska Inter-Tribal Council, Alaska Rising Tide, Altamaha Riverkeeper,Apalachicola Riverkeeper, Assateague Coastal Trust, Atchafalaya Basinkeeper,Cahaba Riverkeeper, California Coastal Protection Network, Chesapeake ClimateAction Network, Clean Ocean Action, Cook Inletkeeper, Courage Campaign, CrystalCoast Waterkeeper, Emerald Coastkeeper, Environmental Defense Center,Environmental Youth Council, Eyak Preservation Council, Friends of Matanzas,Gulf Restoration Network, Institute for Fisheries Resources, KootenaiEnvironmental Alliance, Living Rivers, Louisiana Bucket Brigade, MatanzasWaterkeeper, Miami Waterkeeper, Native Conservancy (Land Trust), OceanConservation Research, Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations,Preserve Our Wildlife, Prince William Soundkeeper, Resisting EnvironmentalDestruction on Indigenous Lands (REDOIL), Riverkeeper, Sea Turtle OversightProtection, Seneca Lake Guardian, Suncoast Waterkeeper, Turtle IslandRestoration Network, Wabash Riverkeeper Network, Whale and DolphinConservation, WILDCOAST and WildEarth Guardians.

Download the petition.

Statements frompetition signatories:

“President Obama recognized oil drilling off theAtlantic coast was a bad idea. But the same logic—that we must protect ourclimate, wildlife and coastal communities from oil spills and carbon emissions—holds true for all ocean coasts,” said Miyo Sakashita, oceans programdirector at the Center for Biological Diversity. “So we’re calling on thepresident to honor his climate change pledges and end future fossil fuelleasing from all federal offshore areas.”

“President Obama has acknowledged that in order toprevent climate catastrophe, we must transition away from dirty fossil fuelsand keep the vast majority of them in the ground. He has the authority to drivethat transition by permanently protecting our public waters from oil and gasexploitation,” said Marissa Knodel of Friends of the Earth. “To cement hisclimate legacy and honor his administration’s climate goals, President Obamashould not offer any new leases in the 2017-2022 offshore drilling program and withdrawall federal offshore areas from future leasing.”

“It’s time to stop the corporate giveaway of publiclands and waters. Obama has the power to create real, lasting change by endingthe fossil fuel leasing program. An executive act would cut 25 percent ofU.S. climate change emissions and set the stage to transition beyond fossilfuels,” said Amanda Starbuck, program director for Rainforest ActionNetwork.

“President Obama must apply a climate test tooffshore drilling and the rest of our energy policy. When he does, he’ll seethat offshore drilling fails that climate test,” said David Turnbull, campaignsdirector at Oil Change International.

“Any areas being opened up for leasing now will noteven begin producing oil and gas for at least five years. By then weshould be well on our way toward ending destructive fossil fuel extraction, notadding new rigs,” said Marc Yaggi, executive director of Waterkeeper Alliance.“By focusing our investments on a clean-energy future, the Obama administrationwill secure its climate legacy, ensuring economic and environmental resiliencefor future generations.”

“The recent Refugio Oil Spill off the coast ofCalifornia reminds us of the inevitable risks of offshore oil and gasdevelopment,” said Linda Krop, chief counsel of the Environmental DefenseCenter. “These risks are compounded by the devastating and long-lasting effectsof climate change on our coastlines, communities, wildlife and public health.”

“Alaska stands on the front lines as an Arcticregion whose ecosystems and communities are some of the most dramaticallyaffected by climate change,” said Stephen Jolley of Alaska Rising Tide. “If weare committed to social justice and equality for all, we must act as allies tothose communities whose social and spiritual health relies on their continuedrelationship to the land by halting operations that would send our bountifulhome into further decline.”

“From sea level rise and extreme storms fueled by climate change, tocoastal erosion, to frequent spills and accidents, the people of the Gulf of Mexico are on the frontlineof the impacts from the oil and gas industry,” said Cynthia Sarthou, ExecutiveDirector of the Gulf Restoration Network. “Even after the BP disaster, the industry and its political alliescontinue to actively resist new safety reforms. It is time for the President toend new offshore leasing and promote a transition to a more stable, sustainableand equitable economy for our communities and climate.”

“While we were glad President Obama listened to thecommunities and citizens of the Atlantic coast and removed that area fromoffshore leasing, our work is not done,” said Matanzas Riverkeeper Neil A.Armingeon. “We must support those who continue to fight oil and gas developmentin their communities, and we hope President Obama will once again do what’sright and end new leasing in the Gulf and the Arctic.”

“Every time the Obama Administration sells another fossil fuel lease on our public lands and waters, it makes the Keep It in the Ground movement stronger,” said Tim Ream, WildEarth Guardians Climate and Energy Campaign Director. “In 2016, selling our public lands oil and gas to corporations isn’t climate leadership. We have to stop it before Obama leaves office.”

Background

The American public owns nearly 650 million acres of federal public land, andmore than 1.7 billion acres of Outer Continental Shelf (the oceans between 3and 200 miles off the coast) — and the fossil fuels beneath them. This includessensitive oceans and coastlines, including Alaska’s Chukchi Sea, the Gulf ofMexico and the Eastern Seaboard. These places and fossil fuels, held in trustfor the public by the federal government, are administered by the Department ofthe Interior for potential leasing.

Over the past decade, the combustion of federalfossil fuels has resulted in nearly a quarter of all U.S. energy-relatedemissions. An August report by EcoShift consulting, commissioned by the Centerfor Biological Diversity and Friends of the Earth, found that remaining federaloil, gas, coal, oil shale and tar sands that have not been leased to industrycontain up to 450 billion tons of potential greenhouse gas pollution. Burningthe recoverable oil and gas under federal waters would release 61.5 billiontons of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, the equivalent of driving 13billion passenger cars for one year. As of this year, 67 million acres ofpublic fossil fuels were already leased to industry, an area more than 55 timeslarger than Grand Canyon National Park and containing up to 43 billion tons ofpotential greenhouse gas pollution.

Last year Sens. Merkley (D-Ore.), Sanders (D-Vt.)and others introduced legislation to end issuance of new federal fossil fuelleases. Days later President Obama canceled the Keystone XL tar sandspipeline, saying, “Because ultimately, if we’re going to prevent large parts ofthis Earth from becoming not only inhospitable but uninhabitable in our lifetimes,we’re going to have to keep some fossil fuels in the ground rather than burnthem and release more dangerous pollution into the sky.”

Download a letter from more than 400 groups andclimate leaders urging President Obama to halt new federal fossil fuel leasing.

Download Grounded: The President’s Power to Fight ClimateChange, Protect Public Lands by Keeping Publicly Owned Fossil Fuels in theGround (this report details the legal authorities withwhich a president can halt new federal fossil fuel leases).

Download The Potential Greenhouse GasEmissions of U.S. Federal Fossil Fuels(this reportquantifies the volume and potential greenhouse gas emissions of remainingfederal fossil fuels).

Download ThePotential Greenhouse Gas Emissions fact sheet.

Download Public Lands, Private Profits (this report details the corporations profiting from climate-destroyingfossil fuel extraction on public lands).