📋 Tender Overview
Washington D.C. - On Earth Day U.S. House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) and U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) introduced the which would permanently ban new or renewed leases for oil gas or mineral extraction in the Arctic Ocean Planning Areas of the Outer Continental Shelf. This legislation protects one of the planets most fragile ecosystems and all the Alaska Native communities that rely on it closing the door on future drilling in the region once and for all.
Big Oil sees a melting Arctic as a business opportunity. I see it as our final wake-up call said Ranking Member Huffman. We can either let polluters exploit this sacred region -- threatening fragile ecosystems endangered wildlife and Indigenous communities who have protected these waters since time immemorial -- or rise to the occasion and safeguard the Arctic from irreversible harm. There is no safe way to drill in the Arctic Ocean but there is a safer cleaner more just path forward. My Stop Arctic Ocean Drilling Act is our chance to take that path and respond to the climate crisis with the urgency and leadership it demands.
Trumps Dirty Energy First strategy would see his administration expand Arctic Ocean drilling--all to enrich billionaire corporate polluters said Senator Merkley. Communities across America and around the world right now face the devastating impacts of climate chaos which disproportionately harm Alaskas Native and rural populations that depend on healthy Arctic ecosystems for their livelihoods. Its time to make this region permanently off-limits for oil and gas corporations and Congress must stop the Trump Administration from opening up more of the Arctic and protected waters off our coasts for dangerous drilling. We must protect our oceans planet and future.
BACKGROUND
The Arctic Ocean is a place of rich biodiversity and some of the planets most delicate ecosystems. For Alaska Native communities like the Inupiat the Arctic Ocean is a lifeline sustaining transportation food security and cultural traditions passed down for generations. But the region is in crisis--warming four times faster than the rest of the planet and facing rapid sea ice loss ocean acidification and widespread ecological disruption.
The High Arctic is a bellwether for climate collapse warming at breakneck speed and facing growing pressure from industrial expansion. Oil and gas development here threatens to irreparably damage ecosystems that have withstood extremes for millennia. That threat escalated with the Interior Secretary Burgums latest move to designate the High Arctic as a new planning area in its 11th Offshore Leasing Program -- a clear sign that no corner of the Arctic is safe from corporate polluters under the Trump administration.
President Obama permanently protected these waters in 2016. Just a year later President Trump attempted to undo those protections illegally moving to reopen the Arctic to drilling on his first day in office. A judge in the District Court for Alaska later determined that the underlying statute does not give the president authority to revoke prior withdrawals. President Trump has again sought to illegally open the Arctic to drilling during his second term. But his intentions have been clear from the start: during his first administration the Interior Department proposed a sweeping offshore leasing plan with 47 lease sales across nearly every U.S. coastline including the Atlantic Pacific and Arctic.
Drilling in the Arctic presents uniquely dangerous risks due to the regions extreme cold treacherous seas and prolonged periods of darkness during the winter months. These harsh and unpredictable conditions not only increase the chances of catastrophic spills but also make emergency response efforts significantly more difficult and delayed increasing the threat to nearby communities fragile ecosystems and the wildlife that depend on them.
Scientists estimate that ending new offshore drilling could prevent up to 19 billion tons of greenhouse gas emissions a crucial step toward meeting our climate goals. The Stop Arctic Ocean Drilling Act is a cornerstone in the fight to end our dangerous dependence on fossil fuels and build a cleaner safer future.
Companion legislation was introduced by Senator Jeff Merkley.
Original cosponsors of the Stop Arctic Ocean Drilling ActHouse: Rep. Mike Levin (D-Calif.) Rep. Suzanne Bonamici (D-Ore.) Rep. Nanette Diaz Barragan (D-Calif.) Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.) Rep. Julia Brownley (D-Calif.) Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) Rep. Kathy Castor (D-Fla.) Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.) Rep. Scott Peters (D-Calif.) and Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.).Senate: Sen. Edward Markey (D-Mass.) Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.).
Statements of Support
Alaska Wilderness LeagueWe applaud Rep. Huffman and Rep. Merkley for their leadership in introducing this vital bill to protect the Arctic Ocean from destructive drilling said Alex Cohen Government Affairs Director at Alaska Wilderness League. Oil giants like Shell have already abandoned their attempts to drill here proving that this extreme region is too risky too expensive and incompatible with a thriving Arctic ecosystem. These waters are home to beluga whales walruses and some of the most resilient yet vulnerable wildlife on Earth--species that cannot afford the dangers of oil spills and climate disruption. Keeping the Arctic Ocean free from drilling isnt just about protecting biodiversity; its about upholding our responsibility to future generations.
NRDCThe Trump administration is determined to sell off our oceans to pad Big Oil pockets. Permanently protecting the Arctic Ocean puts coastal communities and wildlife above polluters and brings us closer to a world where our waters are free from oil spills endangered whale populations are free from seismic bl
