Gabby Brown, gabby.brown@sierraclub.org
Washington, DC -- Today, the Bureau of Land Management announced a plan to defer a number of leases from upcoming onshore oil and gas lease sales and issue draft environmental assessments for these leases. BLM will solicit feedback on the leases and analyze environmental impacts including national greenhouse gas emissions and the social cost of greenhouse gases.
In response, Dan Ritzman, Director of the Sierra Club’s Lands Water Wildlife Campaign, released the following statement:
“The Biden administration has made the right decision by deferring these leases and conducting full environmental reviews that include the climate impact of drilling on public lands. Fossil fuel extraction on public lands and waters accounts for a quarter of our national contribution to the climate crisis, and this is an important step toward making our public lands part of the climate solution instead of the problem. As President Biden prepares to join the international community in making climate commitments in Glasgow next week, it’s critical that the administration go further by taking bold action to end fossil fuel leasing on public lands and waters once and for all.”
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.