(ConservativeFreePress.com) – The Biden administration denied the reports that they are planning on announcing their approval for the controversial Arctic oil drilling project that has been opposed by both environmentalist and Native American groups.
On Friday, CNN, The New York Times, and Bloomberg all reported that the Interior Department had approved the Willow Project and was allowing ConocoPhillips to move forward with their $8 billion endeavor which would become the single largest oil operation in the U.S.
However, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said on Friday that a decision had not yet been reached regarding this project and that the reports are wrong.
The project would include a development in a proposed site that is part of the National Petroleum Reserve in the northwest of the state. The oil company originally started acquiring this land in the 1990s and made the formal application for the development in 2018.
The proposal also has the backing of Alaska lawmakers, Republican Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan and Rep. Mary Peltola (D), all of whom wrote a joint CNN op-ed last week pushing for Biden to approve the project. They further claimed that this project is the “most environmentally responsible choice” for a smooth transition to renewable fuels.
Environmental and native organizations have said that the project was going to be an environmental disaster that would go against Biden’s decarbonization goals, especially as the federal review for the proposal has estimated that the project would release close to 280 million metric tons in carbon emissions.
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