In response to the release of the Willow project’s Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (FSEIS) from the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Evergreen Action Policy Lead Mattea Mrkusic released the following statement: 

“The FSEIS released today fails to paint an accurate picture of the disastrous climate and health implications of the Willow project. We know that new fossil fuel infrastructure – like the Willow project – is fundamentally at odds with a safer climate future. But over the next three decades, this proposed oil and gas development would pump up to 287 million metric tons of greenhouse gas pollution into our atmosphere. That’s equivalent to the annual emissions of up to 76 new coal-fired power plants. Let’s be clear: ConocoPhillips’ Willow project represents a massive step backward on the path to achieving the president’s climate and environmental justice goals. And what’s more, it would harm local Arctic communities that are already grappling with toxic air pollution and a sensitive arctic ecosystem that’s under attack.  

“To fully capture the risks associated with fossil fuel development like the Willow project, President Biden must implement a “climate test” on major energy infrastructure projects, requiring an evaluation of the lifecycle climate pollution and climate change impacts, under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). And federal agencies should reject projects that are incompatible with a climate-safe future. Such climate screens should also be considered a new requirement in upcoming oil and gas rulemaking at the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). We cannot afford to rubber-stamp dangerous development that poisons communities and accelerates the climate crisis; that includes denying permits for the Willow project.”

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