For the first time in history, leaders from across the globe have recognized the urgency of the climate crisis and agreed that we must transition away from fossil fuels.
While nearly 200 countries have pledged to move toward a clean energy future, the final agreement, unfortunately, still falls short of what is truly needed to avoid the worst impacts of climate change.
Leaders of vulnerable countries, scientists, public health experts, and advocates like myself traveled to the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Dubai at the end of last year to demand a rapid and just phaseout of oil, coal, and gas. But, with a litany of leaders and attendees representing the interests of the fossil fuel industry, it is no surprise that the final agreement leaves room for the continued extraction of these unsustainable energy sources.
There can be no real justice for Gulf communities as long as new fossil fuel projects continue to be approved off their coasts and in their neighborhoods.
Numerous analyses have made clear that any new fossil fuel production is incompatible with a livable future. Each new approval of a liquefied natural gas facility, a pipeline, or an offshore oil and gas lease—including the upcoming offshore oil and gas lease sale in the Gulf of Mexico—pushes our goal of keeping global warming to 1.5℃ further and further out of reach.
We have all the information necessary to know that allusively agreeing to transition away from fossil fuels is not enough—and we definitely know that investing in, approving, and operating new fossil fuel projects is the opposite of what we should be doing. So why are the Biden Administration and leaders worldwide continuing to approve new oil and gas projects that threaten to undermine progress to reduce emissions?
Just a few weeks ago, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) held Lease Sale 261—a 73 million-acre sale of the Gulf of Mexico, right off the coasts of Texas, Louisiana, and Alabama. It is the sad truth that this massive oil and gas lease sale will occur just weeks after a catastrophic oil spill was discovered off Louisiana’s coast and the entire international community agreed to transition away from fossil fuels at COP28.
Unfortunately, Lease Sale 261 is just one of many dirty energy projects we can expect to see approved in the coming months. In September, the Biden Administration released its Five-Year Program for offshore drilling which includes three scheduled fossil fuel lease sales that will auction even more of the Gulf of Mexico to Big Oil. The new sales in the Five-Year Program were approved by BOEM just days before Lease Sale 261.
We don’t have to live in a world where the fossil fuel industry decides what to do with our public lands and waters, but we need our leaders to step up.
Along with fueling the climate crisis, offshore drilling also harms the Gulf communities that depend on a thriving ocean environment for fishing and tourism. The Biden administration just released an Ocean Justice Strategy, which can and must be used to listen to the communities forced to live with the impacts of offshore drilling. There can be no real justice for Gulf communities as long as new fossil fuel projects continue to be approved off their coasts and in their neighborhoods.
In short, any new leasing—and the offshore drilling that could follow—undermine President Biden’s climate and environmental justice goals and commitments. How can we expect other global leaders to commit to phasing out fossil fuels when the United States is still actively approving and expanding new oil and gas projects?
My generation is saying enough is enough. Recent polling sounds the alarm that a strong majority of young people want President Biden to do much more to combat climate change and hold the oil and gas companies who are destroying our planet accountable. Both the scientific evidence and public opinion are clear: We cannot afford more dirty energy development.
We don’t have to live in a world where the fossil fuel industry decides what to do with our public lands and waters, but we need our leaders to step up. The agreement reached in Dubai is a start, but we need action here at home if the US wants to be a global climate leader.
Global climate leadership must start at home. President Biden must seize this opportunity to draw the line at no new fossil fuels, starting with ending drilling off our coasts.
