Javier Sierra, javier.sierra@sierraclub.org
(English follows)
(English)
Lawsuit Challenges Biden’s Resumption of Oil, Gas Leasing on Public Lands
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Climate and conservation groups filed a lawsuit late Tuesday challenging the Biden administration’s resumption of oil and gas leasing on public lands today — the first auctions since the president paused leasing shortly after taking office.
The lawsuit challenges the U.S. Bureau of Land Management’s approval of oil and gas lease sales this week across 128,510 acres of public land in Colorado, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Utah and Wyoming. More than 119,000 of those acres are in Wyoming, where sales begin today.
The lawsuit cites a failure of the U.S. Interior Department and BLM to uphold their responsibility under the Federal Land Policy and Management Act, which requires Interior to prevent “permanent impairment” and “unnecessary or undue degradation” of public lands from oil and gas development.
Today’s lawsuit also calls for the BLM to prepare a comprehensive environmental impact statement. That should analyze the compatibility of the predicted increased greenhouse gas emissions with the urgent need to avoid the catastrophe of 1.5 degrees Celsius of global warming, rather than in the piecemeal analysis the BLM used here.
Several analyses show climate pollution from the world’s already producing fossil fuel developments, if fully developed, will push warming past 1.5 degrees Celsius. Avoiding such warming requires ending new investment in fossil fuel projects and phasing out production to keep as much as 40% of already-developed fields in the ground.
As a response, Dan Ritzman, director of Sierra Club's Lands, Water, Wildlife campaign, issued the following statement:
“President Biden came into office promising bold action on climate. Moving forward with these lease sales flies in the face of science and any chance for us to meet our climate goals. For the sake of our environment and our future, we must transition away from the toxic fossil fuel industry that prioritizes handouts to oil and gas companies over the interests of local communities, wildlife and conservation efforts.”
The groups participating in this legal challenge, besides the Sierra Club, are the Center for Biological Diversity, WildEarth Guardians, Waterkeeper Alliance, Citizens for a Healthy Community in Paonia, Montana Environmental Information Center and Western Watersheds Project.
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Sobre el Sierra Club
El Sierra Club es la mayor y más influyente organización medioambiental de base en Estados Unidos y cuenta con millones de miembros y seguidores en todo el país. Además de crear oportunidades para que personas de todas las edades, niveles y localizaciones puedan disfrutar de la naturaleza, el Sierra Club se esfuerza en salvaguardar la salud de las comunidades, proteger la vida silvestre, y preservar los restantes parajes naturales por medio de activismo de base, educación pública, cabildeo y en las cortes. Para más información visite: www.sierraclub.org/ecocentro.
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.