SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Activists demonstrate against the proposed Sea Port Oil Terminal in Texas outside the U.S. Department of Transportation headquarters on November 16, 2022 in Washington, D.C.
(Photo: Texas Campaign for the Environment/Twitter)
Biden Implored to Avert 'Carbon Bomb' by Blocking Texas Gulf Oil Terminals
"It's hypocritical for the Biden administration to allow these things to get built and then say the U.S. wants to decrease its own emissions," said one climate campaigner.
Feb 21, 2023
The Biden administration's plan to potentially allow four new oil terminals along the Texas Gulf Coast would unleash a "carbon bomb" potentially equivalent to three years of all U.S. emissions and belie President Joe Biden's stated intent to "act boldly on climate," according to an analysis published on Tuesday.
The analysis—which was conducted for The Guardian by Global Energy Monitor, a San Francisco-based NGO that tracks fossil fuel projects around the world—found that if all four terminals are built and operate at full capacity for their expected 30-year lifespan, they will generate a staggering 24 billion metric tons of greenhouse gases.
According to The Guardian:
The federal government has already quietly approved the Sea Port Oil Terminal project, a proposed offshore oil platform located 35 miles off the Texas coast, south of Houston, and will decide whether to allow three other nearby oil terminal proposals. Combined, the four terminals would expand U.S. oil exports by nearly seven million barrels every day, handling the capacity of half of all current national oil exports.
"The amount of oil going through these projects, and the resulting emissions, are pretty astounding," said Global Energy Monitor analyst Baird Langenbrunner.
\u201cIncreasing oil production is completely at odds with the Biden administration's stated goals of climate progress. https://t.co/1YqchQpfSw\u201d— Food & Water Watch (@Food & Water Watch) 1677016894
Sea Port Oil Terminal (STOP), the largest of the projects, would produce an estimated seven billion metric tons of annual greenhouse emissions, followed by Bluewater Texas (6.7 billion metric tons), Blue Marlin (6.6 billion), and Texas GulfLink (3.8 billion). In 2019, U.S. emissions totaled 6.6 billion metric tons, according to the analysis.
"Even if the emissions are a bit lower... we are fast-forwarding ourselves to the date where we have to stop completely emitting," said Langenbrunner. "Any extra emissions are in direct conflict with climate goals and it's hypocritical for the Biden administration to allow these things to get built and then say the U.S. wants to decrease its own emissions."
SPOT was approved by the Biden administration last November over the strong objections of climate, environmental, and other campaigners. As currently planned, the project would consist of several pipelines—the longest of them 50 miles long—storage tanks, and a deepwater oil export platform.
Last month, green and community groups sued the U.S. Department of Transportation's Maritime Administration (MARAD) over its approval of SPOT.
\u201cRice\u2019s whales lost 22% of their population after the Deepwater Horizon disaster, and now they\u2019re among the most endangered marine mammals on Earth, with fewer than 50 left. That\u2019s one reason why we\u2019re fighting the Sea Port Oil Terminal in court. \nhttps://t.co/SBaZOngGas\u201d— Center for Biological Diversity (@Center for Biological Diversity) 1674665079
"Licensing SPOT exclusively serves the fossil fuel industry's goal of extracting every last drop of oil from the Permian Basin, while failing the communities and ecosystems of the Gulf, our nation, and global climate," Devorah Ancel, a senior attorney at the Sierra Club—one of the groups filing the suit— said at the time.
"Considering the administration's stated commitment to 'tackle the climate crisis,' it is particularly troubling that MARAD's review of SPOT's environmental and community impacts entirely fails to account for the project's significant contributions to climate change," Ancel added, "including impacts from excessive greenhouse gas pollution that will push temperatures higher in the Houston area and disrupt global climate."
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, The U.S. is on a fast track to authoritarianism like nothing I've ever seen. Meanwhile, corporate news outlets are utterly capitulating to Trump, twisting their coverage to avoid drawing his ire while lining up to stuff cash in his pockets. That's why I believe that Common Dreams is doing the best and most consequential reporting that we've ever done. Our small but mighty team is a progressive reporting powerhouse, covering the news every day that the corporate media never will. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. And to ignite change for the common good. Now here's the key piece that I want all our readers to understand: None of this would be possible without your financial support. That's not just some fundraising cliche. It's the absolute and literal truth. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. Will you donate now to help power the nonprofit, independent reporting of Common Dreams? Thank you for being a vital member of our community. Together, we can keep independent journalism alive when it’s needed most. - Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
biden administrationdepartment of transportationglobal energy monitorgulf of mexicojoe bidenmaritime administrationpermian basinsea port oil terminalsierra clubtexasthe guardianfossil fuels
The Biden administration's plan to potentially allow four new oil terminals along the Texas Gulf Coast would unleash a "carbon bomb" potentially equivalent to three years of all U.S. emissions and belie President Joe Biden's stated intent to "act boldly on climate," according to an analysis published on Tuesday.
The analysis—which was conducted for The Guardian by Global Energy Monitor, a San Francisco-based NGO that tracks fossil fuel projects around the world—found that if all four terminals are built and operate at full capacity for their expected 30-year lifespan, they will generate a staggering 24 billion metric tons of greenhouse gases.
According to The Guardian:
The federal government has already quietly approved the Sea Port Oil Terminal project, a proposed offshore oil platform located 35 miles off the Texas coast, south of Houston, and will decide whether to allow three other nearby oil terminal proposals. Combined, the four terminals would expand U.S. oil exports by nearly seven million barrels every day, handling the capacity of half of all current national oil exports.
"The amount of oil going through these projects, and the resulting emissions, are pretty astounding," said Global Energy Monitor analyst Baird Langenbrunner.
\u201cIncreasing oil production is completely at odds with the Biden administration's stated goals of climate progress. https://t.co/1YqchQpfSw\u201d— Food & Water Watch (@Food & Water Watch) 1677016894
Sea Port Oil Terminal (STOP), the largest of the projects, would produce an estimated seven billion metric tons of annual greenhouse emissions, followed by Bluewater Texas (6.7 billion metric tons), Blue Marlin (6.6 billion), and Texas GulfLink (3.8 billion). In 2019, U.S. emissions totaled 6.6 billion metric tons, according to the analysis.
"Even if the emissions are a bit lower... we are fast-forwarding ourselves to the date where we have to stop completely emitting," said Langenbrunner. "Any extra emissions are in direct conflict with climate goals and it's hypocritical for the Biden administration to allow these things to get built and then say the U.S. wants to decrease its own emissions."
SPOT was approved by the Biden administration last November over the strong objections of climate, environmental, and other campaigners. As currently planned, the project would consist of several pipelines—the longest of them 50 miles long—storage tanks, and a deepwater oil export platform.
Last month, green and community groups sued the U.S. Department of Transportation's Maritime Administration (MARAD) over its approval of SPOT.
\u201cRice\u2019s whales lost 22% of their population after the Deepwater Horizon disaster, and now they\u2019re among the most endangered marine mammals on Earth, with fewer than 50 left. That\u2019s one reason why we\u2019re fighting the Sea Port Oil Terminal in court. \nhttps://t.co/SBaZOngGas\u201d— Center for Biological Diversity (@Center for Biological Diversity) 1674665079
"Licensing SPOT exclusively serves the fossil fuel industry's goal of extracting every last drop of oil from the Permian Basin, while failing the communities and ecosystems of the Gulf, our nation, and global climate," Devorah Ancel, a senior attorney at the Sierra Club—one of the groups filing the suit— said at the time.
"Considering the administration's stated commitment to 'tackle the climate crisis,' it is particularly troubling that MARAD's review of SPOT's environmental and community impacts entirely fails to account for the project's significant contributions to climate change," Ancel added, "including impacts from excessive greenhouse gas pollution that will push temperatures higher in the Houston area and disrupt global climate."
From Your Site Articles
- Biden Administration Approves Application for New Oil Export Project on Texas Coast Despite Climate Goals and Environmental Justice Pledges ›
- Anger as Biden EPA Backs 'Dangerous and Unnecessary' Oil Export Project on Texas Coast ›
- 'A Death Sentence': Biden Blasted for Approving Oil Export Project ›
- 50,000 People Urge Biden Admin to Reject 'Archaic' Oil Terminal in Houston Area ›
- States, Tribe, and Green Groups to Sue EPA Over Failing to Cap Climate Pollution ›
- Opinion | How to Build a Climate Bomb | Common Dreams ›
- 'Catastrophic': Biden Admin Approves Largest Offshore Oil Export Terminal | Common Dreams ›
Related Articles Around the Web
The Biden administration's plan to potentially allow four new oil terminals along the Texas Gulf Coast would unleash a "carbon bomb" potentially equivalent to three years of all U.S. emissions and belie President Joe Biden's stated intent to "act boldly on climate," according to an analysis published on Tuesday.
The analysis—which was conducted for The Guardian by Global Energy Monitor, a San Francisco-based NGO that tracks fossil fuel projects around the world—found that if all four terminals are built and operate at full capacity for their expected 30-year lifespan, they will generate a staggering 24 billion metric tons of greenhouse gases.
According to The Guardian:
The federal government has already quietly approved the Sea Port Oil Terminal project, a proposed offshore oil platform located 35 miles off the Texas coast, south of Houston, and will decide whether to allow three other nearby oil terminal proposals. Combined, the four terminals would expand U.S. oil exports by nearly seven million barrels every day, handling the capacity of half of all current national oil exports.
"The amount of oil going through these projects, and the resulting emissions, are pretty astounding," said Global Energy Monitor analyst Baird Langenbrunner.
\u201cIncreasing oil production is completely at odds with the Biden administration's stated goals of climate progress. https://t.co/1YqchQpfSw\u201d— Food & Water Watch (@Food & Water Watch) 1677016894
Sea Port Oil Terminal (STOP), the largest of the projects, would produce an estimated seven billion metric tons of annual greenhouse emissions, followed by Bluewater Texas (6.7 billion metric tons), Blue Marlin (6.6 billion), and Texas GulfLink (3.8 billion). In 2019, U.S. emissions totaled 6.6 billion metric tons, according to the analysis.
"Even if the emissions are a bit lower... we are fast-forwarding ourselves to the date where we have to stop completely emitting," said Langenbrunner. "Any extra emissions are in direct conflict with climate goals and it's hypocritical for the Biden administration to allow these things to get built and then say the U.S. wants to decrease its own emissions."
SPOT was approved by the Biden administration last November over the strong objections of climate, environmental, and other campaigners. As currently planned, the project would consist of several pipelines—the longest of them 50 miles long—storage tanks, and a deepwater oil export platform.
Last month, green and community groups sued the U.S. Department of Transportation's Maritime Administration (MARAD) over its approval of SPOT.
\u201cRice\u2019s whales lost 22% of their population after the Deepwater Horizon disaster, and now they\u2019re among the most endangered marine mammals on Earth, with fewer than 50 left. That\u2019s one reason why we\u2019re fighting the Sea Port Oil Terminal in court. \nhttps://t.co/SBaZOngGas\u201d— Center for Biological Diversity (@Center for Biological Diversity) 1674665079
"Licensing SPOT exclusively serves the fossil fuel industry's goal of extracting every last drop of oil from the Permian Basin, while failing the communities and ecosystems of the Gulf, our nation, and global climate," Devorah Ancel, a senior attorney at the Sierra Club—one of the groups filing the suit— said at the time.
"Considering the administration's stated commitment to 'tackle the climate crisis,' it is particularly troubling that MARAD's review of SPOT's environmental and community impacts entirely fails to account for the project's significant contributions to climate change," Ancel added, "including impacts from excessive greenhouse gas pollution that will push temperatures higher in the Houston area and disrupt global climate."
From Your Site Articles
- Biden Administration Approves Application for New Oil Export Project on Texas Coast Despite Climate Goals and Environmental Justice Pledges ›
- Anger as Biden EPA Backs 'Dangerous and Unnecessary' Oil Export Project on Texas Coast ›
- 'A Death Sentence': Biden Blasted for Approving Oil Export Project ›
- 50,000 People Urge Biden Admin to Reject 'Archaic' Oil Terminal in Houston Area ›
- States, Tribe, and Green Groups to Sue EPA Over Failing to Cap Climate Pollution ›
- Opinion | How to Build a Climate Bomb | Common Dreams ›
- 'Catastrophic': Biden Admin Approves Largest Offshore Oil Export Terminal | Common Dreams ›
Related Articles Around the Web
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.