How President Biden Can Align the Federal Fossil Fuel Program to Deliver on Climate and Put People Over Profits - MEETING THE MOMENT
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MEETING THE MOMENT: How President Biden Can Align the Federal Fossil Fuel Program to Deliver on Climate and Put People Over Profits Co-authored by Earthjustice and Evergreen Action June 2022
Table of Contents
Executive Summary
Introduction
Section 1: Background
1. Climate Limits Mean Phasing Down Fossil Fuel Production
2. The U.S. Federal Fossil Fuel Program Is Currently Incompatible with
Biden’s Climate Commitments
3. The Societal Cost of Federal Fossil Fuel Leasing
Section 2: Policy Recommendations
1. Executive Action
a. Federal Offshore Oil and Gas Production
b. Federal Onshore Oil and Gas Production
c. Federal Coal Mining
2. Leading a Just Transition
3. Legislative Action
Conclusion
Appendix
Methodology
Acknowledgements
Meeting the Moment Table of Contents 2
Executive Summary
President Biden campaigned and won on the can align its federal fossil fuel development
most ambitious climate agenda in our nation’s decisions with the President’s climate and
history. He committed to banning new oil and environmental justice commitments.
gas leasing on America’s public lands and
waters, and pledged to take action against The paper is guided by the understanding
fossil fuel companies that disproportionately that the Biden administration must phase
harm communities of color and low-income out federal production of the primary source
communities. Upon taking office, he rejoined of greenhouse gas pollution: fossil fuels. As
the Paris Agreement and announced a historic part of these efforts, the Biden administration
target to slash U.S. greenhouse gas pollution must take action to realize three crucial
(or “climate pollution”) in half by 2030 and to outcomes:
achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.
1. Swiftly and legally phase out new federal
But over a year into President Biden’s first fossil fuel leasing on public lands and
term, the U.S. federal fossil fuel program waters, including oil, gas, and coal.
remains inconsistent with his stated national 2. Limit federal fossil fuel production from
climate pollution target and the goals of the existing leases to align with the goals
Paris Agreement. If the federal fossil fuel of the Paris Agreement and President
program continues on its current trajectory, it Biden’s climate and environmental
will be impossible for the Biden administration justice commitments.
to meet its climate obligations. After all,
3. Lead a just transition away from a
the science is resoundingly clear: no new
fossil-fueled economy for communities
fossil fuel infrastructure can be developed
historically and currently impacted
anywhere globally, if we hope to stand a
by federal fossil fuel leasing, while
chance of limiting global warming to 1.5°C.
investing in a just and inclusive clean
energy future.
Beyond exacerbating the climate crisis,
the U.S. federal fossil fuel leasing program
is irreconcilable with the President’s This paper provides an overview of the
environmental justice commitments. The legal authority and policy tools the Biden
impacts of the federal fossil fuel leasing administration has to achieve these three
program have all too often overburdened necessary outcomes. Specifically, our
Black, Indigenous, and other communities of recommendations focus on opportunities
color living directly adjacent to the sites of opportunities to drastically overhaul federal
extraction and upstream processing facilities. fossil fuel development based on the
This environmental injustice must be rectified. President’s executive authority, as well as the
statutory authorities of the U.S. Department
This paper, co-authored by Earthjustice of the Interior (DOI) and two of DOI’s internal
and Evergreen Action, lays out a policy sub agencies, the Bureau of Land Management
roadmap for how the Biden administration (BLM) and the Bureau of Ocean Energy
Management (BOEM). The recommendations
Meeting the Moment Executive Summary 3
outlined in this paper focus on short-term • Lead a Just Transition1: To realize a just
policy actions that should be initiated quickly transition away from a fossil-fueled
and completed within the remainder of economy for communities impacted
President Biden’s first term in office. While by federal fossil fuel leasing, the Biden
the authors acknowledge the vital importance administration should increase public
of broader, longer term strategies, they are engagement and honor environmental
outside the scope of this paper. justice by establishing a Community Council
to elevate the concerns of Indigenous
Key Policy Recommendations: and frontline communities; establish a
Labor and Just Transition Working Group
• Federal Offshore Drilling: BOEM should end
within the White House Environmental
new offshore oil and gas leasing in federal
Justice Council to examine the reality and
waters by providing for no new lease sales
impacts of lost revenue from decreased
in the upcoming Five-Year Outer Continental
fossil fuel production and provide concrete
Shelf Leasing Plan. The Biden administration
recommendations on how to replace that
should overhaul its review of development
financial support for communities; work
activities for existing offshore leases and
to identify federal resources that can help
adopt comprehensive regulations to curb
decouple state budgets from fossil fuel
methane emissions.
royalties; and deploy responsibly-sited
clean energy on public lands and waters.
• Federal Onshore Drilling: The Biden
administration should, as a step to ending
Moving beyond fossil fuels would jumpstart
new onshore leasing, reject new lease sales
America’s lagging efforts to meet its domestic
that do not align with the President’s climate
and international climate commitments.
commitments; withdraw large amounts of
federal lands from the new leasing process;
Reducing our reliance on fossil fuels — and
cancel the existing leases issued in the
investing in domestic clean energy — also
Arctic Refuge; and deny the permit for the
makes us more energy secure. Decreasing
Willow Project in the Western Arctic. DOI
demand for oil and gas will help
should also limit the rate of onshore oil
erode the financial support for petro-
and gas production from existing leases to
dictators like Vladimir Putin, whose
align with climate commitments; prohibit
unprovoked war on Ukraine, funded by
routine venting and flaring of methane gas;
fossil fuel revenues, has caused a grave
and select the “no-action” alternative for
humanitarian crisis. Succumbing to
massive carbon polluting projects that are
ill-advised calls to “drill, baby, drill” in response
proposed to occur.
to high gas prices would only perpetuate
the global reliance on fossil fuels that funds
• Federal Coal Mining: The Biden
Putin’s aggression and leave U.S. consumers
administration should reissue a full coal
vulnerable to the price spikes inherent to
leasing moratorium, without exceptions,
fossil fuels, regardless of where they originate.
that immediately halts new leasing. The
Put plainly and simply, increasing federal
administration should also increase royalty
drilling at home will not lower prices at
rates in 10-year renewals of existing leases
the pump in the near or mid term. Oil and
to account for their climate and other
gas prices are largely dictated by the global
environmental costs, and ensure companies
market, because they are commodities
pay for the true cost of mining operations
and reclamation.
1
This report draws attention to Climate Justice Alliance’s and Just Transition Alliance’s
definitions of a Just Transition. Executive Summary 4The North Antelope Rochelle Mine, located in Campbell County, Wyoming,
about 65 miles south of Gillette in the Powder River Basin. (EcoFlight)
bought and sold on an international market, new fossil fuel development on America’s
subject to price swings and energy insecurity public lands and offshore waters. At the
caused by geopolitical events. This is why same time, the Biden administration has clear
transitioning to clean energy is essential authority to enact sweeping executive action
to provide Americans with better energy to limit existing onshore and offshore federal
security and more stable energy costs. oil and gas production. The opportunities
are clear. Now, it’s up to President Biden to
2022 must be a year of transformative make choices that deliver on his climate and
climate and environmental justice action. environmental justice promises.
Throughout the remainder of this year and his
presidential term, the Biden administration
must do everything in its power to phase out
Meeting the Moment Executive Summary 5Introduction
This report will focus on one of the dirtiest
uses of America’s federal public lands and
The fact is, any new
waters: fossil fuel development. The U.S. fossil fuel development
federal government sells leases to private
companies which allow them to extract oil,
is irreconcilable with
gas, and coal in vast quantities from America’s President Biden’s
public lands and waters. By doing so, fossil
national climate
fuel companies unleash pollution that fuels
the climate crisis and disproportionately commitment to slash
impacts Black, Brown, Indigenous, and low- U.S. greenhouse gas
income frontline communities.
pollution (or “climate
Adding insult to injury, the federal leasing pollution”) by 50-52%
program itself is perversely structured,
enabling fossil fuel companies to not only below 2005 levels by
receive billions in subsidies but easily exploit 2030 and arrive at net-
outdated laws and skirt a weak regulatory
system. The very companies fueling the
zero emissions by 2050.
climate crisis are granted access to lease Between 2005 and 2014, fossil fuels produced
and develop our public lands and offshore on federal land made up nearly a quarter of
waters at low cost, and are often able to the nation’s carbon pollution. The fact is, any
walk away from clean up responsibilities. The new fossil fuel development is irreconcilable
current system primarily benefits industry at with President Biden’s national climate
the expense of taxpayers, communities, and commitment to slash U.S. greenhouse gas
our climate. The Government Accountability pollution (or “climate pollution”) by 50-52%
Office (GAO), the Inspector General for the below 2005 levels by 2030 and arrive at
U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI), and net-zero emissions by 2050. To achieve this
most recently, DOI itself, have all confirmed necessary and ambitious goal, the Biden
that the federal oil and gas leasing program is administration must fulfill its campaign
in need of significant review and correction. promise to end new leasing on public lands
In fact, Management of Federal Oil and Gas and waters and limit fossil fuel production on
Resources has been on GAO’s High-Risk list for existing federal fossil fuel leases.
more than a decade. The federal coal leasing
program is also in dire need of improvement. Making these long overdue and necessary
changes means not falling for industry’s false
The antiquated federal leasing program narratives and misdirection. Predictably, in
needs to be drastically overhauled if the wake of Vladimir Putin’s war on Ukraine,
America’s public lands and offshore waters the fossil fuel industry and their lobbying
are to be part of the climate solution, rather groups have seized on a humanitarian crisis
than a dangerous source of the problem. to push for even more leasing on public
Meeting the Moment Introduction 6lands and waters. Let’s be clear: more federal Let’s be clear: more
leasing and drilling at home will not lower
prices at the pump in the near term. Instead,
federal leasing and
it will lock us into decades of price volatility drilling at home will
and climate pollution that our planet cannot
not lower prices at the
afford. The fossil fuel industry has asserted
that the Biden administration’s policies have pump in the near term.
constrained American energy; yet current U.S. Management (BLM) and the Bureau of Ocean
oil production – more than 11 million barrels Energy Management (BOEM), must use all
per day– is nearing all-time highs, and in 2021, of the tools at their disposal to ensure our
President Biden’s administration actually public lands and waters are a key part of the
issued federal oil and gas permits at a faster climate solution, not a significant source of
pace than the Trump administration. Contrary the problem.
to claims, President Biden’s climate policies
are not constraining U.S. energy production. This report lays out a policy roadmap for
how the Biden administration can align
Rather than doubling down on fossil fuel its fossil fuel development decisions with
production, President Biden should seize this the President’s climate and environmental
moment to supercharge historic clean energy justice commitments to meet this moment.
investments and secure a clean energy future. The report will primarily focus on new leasing,
Decreasing our reliance on fossil fuels and for the purpose of scope, as well as to propose
investing in domestic clean energy will not policies that the administration can act on
only erode support for petro-dictators, but is immediately, given existing legal frameworks.
imperative to combat the climate crisis. And,
we have run out of time to act. Section I of this report will outline the
science showing the need to end new fossil
With UN Secretary General António Guterres fuel development and swiftly limit existing
declaring code red for humanity on the heels production, introduce the details of the
of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate U.S. federal fossil fuel program, and
Change’s (IPCC) recent report, 2022 must highlight additional impacts of the federal
be a year of transformative climate action. leasing program.
President Biden and DOI, including two of
DOI’s sub agencies, the Bureau of Land Section II will introduce key policy
recommendations the Biden administration
must take to rapidly phase out new federal
fossil fuel leasing and limit federal existing
production in line with U.S. national climate
commitments. This report also proposes a suite
of complementary policy recommendations
to realize a just transition away from a fossil-
fueled economy for communities impacted
by federal fossil fuel leasing. Together, these
recommendations create a policy roadmap
for the Biden administration to use to align
the federal leasing program with their climate
and environmental justice goals.
Meeting the Moment Introduction 7Section 1: Background
1. Climate Limits Mean Phasing Science-Based Climate Limits Mean
Embracing a Clean Energy Economy – And
Down Fossil Fuel Production
Phasing Down Federal Fossil Fuel Production
The climate crisis is already upon us. To achieve necessary greenhouse gas pollution
Catastrophic floods are turning streets into reductions, the U.S. must rapidly transition to
raging rivers in Louisiana, Australia, and a clean energy economy. That means making
Brazil. Record-breaking heat waves in the historic investments in clean energy, like the
Pacific Northwest claimed hundreds of lives $555 billion of climate investments contained
last year, while already disastrous wildfires in the U.S. House-passed reconciliation
blazing in California and the Southwest are legislation (formerly known as the Build
projected to become 50% more common by Back Better Act). These climate investments
the end of the century. And as climate-fueled must include tax credits for clean electricity
disasters sweep across the country and the production, electric vehicles (EVs), building
planet, their cost is disproportionately felt by electrification and industrial decarbonization,
Black, Brown, Indigenous, and low-income and more, which together will significantly
communities, many of whom are already reduce domestic demand for fossil fuels.
overburdened by decades of disinvestment These clean energy tax credits will also save
and environmental racism. American households an average of $500
in energy costs per year. President Biden
To avoid the worst impacts of climate change, and Congressional Democrats must ensure
scientists tell us that global warming must these investments pass. But deploying clean
be stabilized at or below 1.5°C. That means energy alone is not enough to follow a 1.5°C
the international community must achieve consistent pathway.
a 45% reduction in carbon dioxide pollution
below 2010 levels by 2030 and reach net- Without exception, the world must also
zero emissions by mid-century. And with only immediately and swiftly ramp down the
eight years left until the end of the decade, production of fossil fuels, including oil,
time is ticking. Fortunately, President Biden gas, and coal.
has committed to a science-based national
climate goal: to cut U.S. emissions in half Simply put, if we hope to limit warming below
below 2005 levels by 2030 and achieve net- 1.5°C degrees, no new fossil fuel production
zero by 2050. But much needs to be done in facilities can be developed, while existing oil
order to accomplish that goal. and gas production must rapidly be brought
to an end. There isn’t space for it in the
world’s atmospheric carbon budget. The
2020 Production Gap Report co-authored by
the United Nations Environmental Program
(UNEP), shows that governments across
the world must swiftly and sharply ramp
Meeting the Moment Background 8GLOBAL FOSSIL FUEL PRODUCTION
Global Fossil
GlobalFuel
FossilProduction
Fuel Production
GtCO2/yr
tCO2/yr
40
0
30 The Production Gap
0 The Production Gap
20
Countries’ plans
& projections
Production implied by
climate pledges
0 Production consistent
with 1.5°C
10
Countries’ plans
& projections
Production implied by
climate pledges
Production consistent
0 with 1.5°C
0 2020 2025 2030 2035 2040
Source: The Production Gap Report 2021
down fossil fuel production by roughly 6% But here’s the problem: current global
0 per year between 2020 and 2030 to follow and domestic fossil fuel production and
2020 a 1.5°C2025 2030 The Tyndall
consistent pathway. 2035 development 2040 rates fly in the face of these
Report additionally finds that wealthy, fossil calculations and broader climate science.
fuel-producing countries like the U.S. must Instead of committing to the necessary decline
Source: The Production Gap Report 2021
completely phase out existing coal production in production, countries around the world
by 2030 and oil and gas production by 2034. are projecting a near term annual increase
That means governments, including the in fossil fuel production of 2%; which, by the
US, must halt all new fossil fuel projects end of this decade, would result in more than
and infrastructure and decommission “a double the production consistent with the
significant portion” of existing production 1.5°C limit. For its part, the U.S. is on track to
facilities and infrastructure. reach a record high of fossil fuel production
in 2023.
Meeting the Moment Background 9Because the U.S. is notably responsible for All public lands and waters are the ancestral
the largest share of historical greenhouse homelands of Indigenous peoples, who still
gas pollution in the world, it has a particular live here today and are leading the fight for
obligation to lead the ramping down of fossil self-determination and the protection of
fuel production. Instead, over the past two their cultural sacred sites and communities.
decades, the U.S. has emerged as the top Indigenous leaders have been at the forefront
global producer of oil and fossil gas (called of the effort to curtail federal fossil fuel
“natural gas” by the fossil fuel industry). The leases, elevating the issue onto the national
U.S. has also become the largest exporter of stage in recent decades.
liquefied “natural” gas (LNG), bolstered by
What is the U.S. Federal Fossil Fuel Program?
the proliferation of hydraulic fracturing and
horizontal drilling in the early 2000-2010s. America’s federal fossil fuel program allows
This production boom means that America is private industry to lease tracts of public lands
exporting its climate pollution and fossil fuel and waters from which they extract fossil
dependence around the world. fuels. The Department of the Interior (DOI)
is charged with overseeing the federal fossil
President Biden has an opportunity and a fuel program, which can be divided into three
responsibility to meet this moment. He must main types of fossil fuel production:
reinforce his climate and environmental
justice leadership by using his administration’s • Offshore oil and gas production
legal authority to phase out federal fossil fuel • Onshore oil and gas production
leasing and ramp down fossil fuel production • Coal extraction
on America’s public lands and waters.
DOI primarily manages these programs
2. The U.S. Federal Fossil through two internal sub agencies: the Bureau
of Land Management (BLM) and the Bureau
Fuel Program Is Currently
of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM). BLM
Incompatible with Biden’s oversees 24.9 million acres of federal onshore
Climate Commitments oil and gas leases, of which 12.6 million acres
are being used to produce oil and gas. As of
2021, BLM also administered 299 federal coal
What Are U.S. Federal, or Public, Lands
leases across approximately 458,600 acres.
and Waters?
Meanwhile, BOEM manages around 2,057
The U.S. government is responsible for active offshore oil and gas leases across
managing America’s federal lands and 10.9 million acres of the OCS as of May 2022.
waters, including around 30% of the nation’s About 97% of the offshore leases that BOEM
landmass. The federal government also manages are located in the Gulf of Mexico.
oversees the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf
(OCS), an offshore portion of America’s How Does the U.S. Federal Fossil Fuel
underwater lands, subsoil, and seabed that Program Work?
typically extends between three and 200
The federal fossil fuel program evolved
nautical miles off the coast. In this report,
throughout the 20th century, with three key
we’ll refer to terrestrial public lands as
statutes making up the governance regime.
“onshore lands'' and submerged lands leased
The Mineral Leasing Act (MLA) authorizes
by the government for offshore oil and gas
BLM to issue coal, oil, and gas leases to
production as “public waters.”
Meeting the Moment Background 10private companies on most federally owned President Biden Committed to
public lands. The Federal Land Policy and Addressing the Federal Fossil Fuel Program’s
Management Act (FLPMA) requires BLM to Climate Pollution – But Continues to Hold
manage uses of the public lands, including oil Lease Sales
and gas activities, to protect the environment
On the campaign trail, President Biden
and prevent degradation. Under the Outer
promised to halt new oil and gas leasing
Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA), which
on public lands, saying, “[n]o more drilling
governs offshore oil and gas production
on federal lands. No more drilling, including
on submerged lands, the Secretary of the
offshore. No ability for the oil industry to
Interior has discretion to decide whether to
continue to drill, period, ends, number one.”
issue leases in the OCS and must meet a
Fulfilling his promise to end leasing on public
requirement to safeguard the environment.
lands and waters is central to achieving the
administration’s overall national climate goals
How the Federal Fossil Fuel Program Fuels
to slash U.S. climate pollution by 50-52%
Climate Pollution
below 2005 levels by 2030 and achieve net-
Coal, oil, and gas extracted from our federal zero by 2050.
lands and public waters are fueling the
climate crisis. Lifecycle emissions from President Biden started strong, with
fossil fuels extracted on public lands have Executive Order 14008 directing a pause
accounted for nearly a quarter of the country’s on new federal oil and gas leasing and a
carbon emissions on average since 2005. As comprehensive review of the federal oil and
noted above, leases sold under the Trump gas program. In June 2021, however, a Trump-
administration are now being permitted for appointed federal judge issued, in Louisiana
development under the Biden administration v. Biden, a preliminary injunction blocking
at alarmingly high rates, moving us further implementation of the outright leasing pause.
from curtailing fossil fuel dependence and at However, the Louisiana v. Biden order left DOI
odds with the administration’s stated climate with ample flexibility to limit the size of any
and environmental justice goals. sales, and to postpone individual lease sales.
In fact, the order itself expressly states that it
But here’s the good news: the Biden didn’t preclude BLM from postponing a lease
administration has the authority to align sale to address environmental concerns or
our federal fossil fuel leasing program comply with the agency’s obligations under
with its climate and environmental justice the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).
commitments. Nonetheless, the administration responded
23% 23% Emissions from fossil fuels
Emissions
extracted on public from fossil fuels
lands
extracted on public lands
account for nearly a quarter of
account for nearly a quarter of
the country’s
the carbon
country’spollution.
carbon pollution.
Source:
Source: Ratledge, Ratledge,
Zachary, andZachary,
Huntley and Huntley (2022);
(2022);
Photo by Wirestock/Freepik
Photo by Wirestock/Freepik
Meeting the Moment Background 11to the order by moving forward with a for all federal agencies to make achieving
massive lease sale in the Gulf of Mexico – environmental justice a part of their mission
the largest offshore lease sale in history. In and to work to correct the disproportionate
January 2022, a federal judge threw out the impact of pollution on communities of color.
Gulf lease sale, citing the administration’s
A History of Injustice and Resistance
failure to adequately consider the sale’s
impacts on climate change. Meanwhile, the Throughout American history, moneyed
administration announced in April, 2022 that interests have obtained rights to drill and
it was moving forward with onshore lease mine on what are now public lands for a
sales, scheduled for June. These lease sales, fraction of their worth, underpaid workers to
as well as others, are not required by the labor under dangerous conditions, and left
Louisiana order, and new lease sales are not in environmental destruction in their wake. This
line with our nation’s climate commitments. has resulted in a deeply unjust system that
benefits wealthy individuals and corporate
3. The Societal Cost of Federal interests. Meanwhile, Black, Brown, Indigenous,
Fossil Fuel Leasing and low-income communities that are already
overburdened by the consequences of deeply
racist practices such as redlining, housing
Fossil fuels are key drivers of environmental discrimination, Indigenous genocide and
injustice, disproportionately impacting Black, removal, and colonization, overwhelmingly
Brown, Indigenous, and frontline communities. pay the price. For instance, in the Gulf of
By ramping down and eventually eliminating Mexico region, decades of environmental
federal fossil fuel leasing, exploration, and racism and exploitation by fossil fuel
development, the U.S. government could begin companies have rendered communities
a process of restoring health and justice to industrial “sacrifice zone(s)," subject to the
these communities. Doing so would align with most direct impacts of our country’s massive
the President’s historic environmental justice offshore drilling program.
commitments; these include a directive
At the same time, federal fossil fuel projects
have had significant impacts on Indigenous
communities. For example, the Northern
Cheyenne Reservation in Montana is bordered
by coal mines to the north and the south,
and polluted runoff from the now-shuttered
Decker Mine has historically discharged into
the Tongue River, along the Reservation’s
eastern boundary. Mining throughout the
Northern Cheyenne’s ancestral homelands
has destroyed important cultural sites used
for Cheyenne ceremonies, as well as habitat
for sensitive species, including burrowing
owls, prairie dogs, prairie chicken, and sage
grouse. The Tribe was promised extensive
employment and contracting in reservation
Homes adjacent to the Shell refinery in Norco, Louisiana. communities, but those opportunities never
(Brad Zweerink / Earthjustice) fully materialized.
Meeting the Moment Background 12In the Four Corners region of New Mexico Arctic Reserve, and residents point to black
near Chaco Canyon, Diné (Navajo), and carbon pollution from fossil fuel production as
Pueblo community leaders have worked for adding to this rise. Meanwhile, a government
years against the encroachment of oil and study looking at long-term health effects for
gas operations on their communities and oil cleanup workers after the catastrophic
cultural sacred sites. Despite this fierce 2010 BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico found that
local opposition, 91% of the region has individuals involved in clean-up operations
been leased for oil and gas development. “experience[d] persistent alterations or
The industrialized fracking operations that worsening of their hematological, hepatic,
now riddle the hillsides continue to subject pulmonary, and cardiac functions,” with
the local population to elevated levels of symptoms lasting 7+ years after exposure.
dangerous air pollutants including benzene And neighborhoods near oil refineries and
and ozone, flares, and unprecedented levels petrochemical facilities where oil and gas
of climate-warming methane pollution. from federal leases are processed, are
(Methane is the primary component of fossil routinely exposed to life-threatening public
gas. A highly potent greenhouse gas, it is more health impacts. Studies have shown that
than 80 times as effective at trapping heat these facilities are far more likely to be found
than carbon dioxide over a 20 year period.) in communities of color. Additionally, the
Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, who has long myriad impacts of coal mining, transport, and
been a champion of protecting this region burning harm communities at every step of its
and its communities, recently announced an supply chain – from decimated landscapes, to
administrative effort to prevent new leasing mining accidents, to the undeniable impacts
within a 10-mile buffer zone around Chaco of climate change and the toxic air pollution
Culture National Historical Park. However, from its combustion.
the ongoing impacts of extensive oil and
gas operations throughout the area have Adverse Impacts on Wildlife
persisted, even within the boundaries of the
The invasive nature of fossil fuel production
10 mile buffer zone.
(drilling, digging, and explosives) poses
disastrous consequences for wildlife and
Fossil Fuel Extraction Sickens
habitats. For example, oil, gas, and mining
Frontline Communities
projects have caused the Greater sage-
The fossil fuel industry is quick to cite grouse population, a keystone species whose
the jobs it provides to communities when protection is critical to 350 other important
defending its exploitation of public lands and wildlife species, to fall by 80% since 1965,
waters. But they are much quieter about the according to the Audubon Society.
adverse impacts of fossil fuel extraction on
nearby communities, particularly the health Offshore, oil spills have repeatedly devastated
impacts of prolonged exposure to extraction ocean wildlife and habitat. The 2010 BP
and processing sites. disaster, which leaked 205.8 million gallons
of oil and 225,000 tons of methane into the
For example, respiratory illnesses skyrocketed Gulf of Mexico, harmed or killed about 82,000
in the small Alaska Native community of birds of 102 species; 25,900 marine mammals;
Nuiqsut, which is surrounded by oil and gas around 6,165 sea turtles, and millions of
activity in the federally managed Western larval fish, in addition to many documented
Meeting the Moment Background 13President Biden can and must use executive
authority immediately to align oil, gas, and coal
production on public lands and public waters with
the Paris Agreement’s goals and the President’s own
domestic climate commitments.
injuries on various fish species. The oil spill gas companies remain free to vent, flare and
and clean-up efforts also killed more than leak methane gas and other pollutants during
8 billion oysters in the Gulf. An investigative the extraction, transportation, and processing
federal study confirmed that at least 770 of oil and gas extracted from public lands. At
square miles of ocean floor habitat around the the same time, onshore rental rates, minimum
wellhead were negatively affected. Chronic bids, and minimum bond amounts still have
exposure to oil, even at sublethal levels, not been updated in decades.
can impact wildlife species and ecosystems
for decades. The federal government is essentially
subsidizing fossil fuel corporations’ profits,
Polluters Profit While Taxpayers Pay allowing industry to create pollution that
the Price public money will need to clean up in the
future. Offshore, thousands of abandoned
Much of the false “affordability” of federal oil and gas wells, platforms, rigs, wellheads,
oil and gas leasing fails to account for and pipelines continue to leak oil, methane,
the numerous externalities borne by and other harmful gasses. They also pose
taxpayers, communities, and landowners navigational, safety, and environmental
with subsurface federal mineral rights. The hazards, and may hinder future development
current federal leasing program requires of offshore wind or other new infrastructure.
insufficient bond amounts for reclamation An estimated 18,000 miles of decommissioned
and frequently sticks taxpayers with the pipelines remain on the floor of the Gulf
clean up cost. Industry receives de facto of Mexico, and the exact location and
subsidies and handouts from taxpayers in the responsible owners for many is undetermined.
form of outdated and inordinately low royalty Climate change-fueled mega-storms like
rates, minimum bids, and rental rates that Hurricane Ida in 2021, which caused more
fail to account for increased production and than 50 infrastructure spills in the Gulf, make
inflation. While DOI announced that it would abandoned infrastructure an even greater
take a step in the right direction by increasing risk.
the onshore royalty rate above the current
12.5 % statutory minimum - for the first time All of these factors and more continue to
ever - to 18.75% on specific proposed leases to make the leasing of public lands and waters
be sold in June 2022, this rate still falls below a tremendously bad deal for communities,
those charged by many states and on private taxpayers, wildlife, and the climate.
lands, and fails to reflect the full societal and
environmental costs of leasing. In fact, oil and
Meeting the Moment Background 14Section 2: Policy
Recommendations
To secure a safer and more equitable gas, and coal production on public lands and
climate future, the Biden administration must public waters with the Paris Agreement’s goals
achieve the following three outcomes: and the President’s own domestic climate
commitments. The President can achieve
1. Swiftly and legally phase out new federal these goals by taking the actions outlined
fossil fuel leasing on public lands and in the sections below, leaning on authorities
waters, including oil, gas, and coal. found primarily in the Outer Continental
2. Limit federal fossil fuel production from Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA), Federal Land Policy
existing leases to align with the goals Management Act (FLPMA), Mineral Leasing
of the Paris Agreement and President Act (MLA), the Naval Petroleum Reserves
Biden’s climate and environmental Production Act (NPRPA) and the National
justice commitments. Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).
3. Lead a just transition away from a
A. Federal Offshore Oil and Gas
fossil-fueled economy for communities
Production
historically and currently impacted by
federal fossil fuel leasing, while
investing in a just and inclusive clean Ending new federal offshore leasing is a pivotal
energy future. step in achieving President Biden’s climate
commitments. Stopping new offshore leasing
would help to protect coastal communities
Earthjustice and Evergreen Action support
that have been used as industrial sacrifice
a policy roadmap of executive actions the
zones, particularly in the Gulf of Mexico.
Biden administration can take under existing
Recently, the Department of the Interior
authority to achieve these outcomes alongside
legislative actions. These recommendations
are intended to work together and collectively It is well within the Interior
are necessary to prevent the most dire effects
Secretary’s authority to end
of climate change, as well as to demonstrate
that the Biden administration takes its climate new offshore oil and gas
and environmental justice commitments
leasing in federal waters.
seriously. (For our methodology, please
see Appendix I.) And the administration
should do just that.
1. Executive Action
(DOI) has taken a step in the right direction
by declining to move forward with three
Working towards a federal fossil fuel phase
upcoming offshore oil and gas lease sales in
out, President Biden can and must use
the Gulf of Mexico and Alaska’s Cook Inlet.
executive authority immediately to align oil,
Meeting the Moment Policy Recommendations 15Now, the Biden administration has significant waned in recent years. While the number of
latitude under existing authorities to build on bids received, acreage leased, and high bids
this decision through the following actions: have fluctuated due to changes in oil and
gas prices, royalty rates, and leases offered,
• No New Leasing in the Bureau of Ocean among other things; the total number of lease
Energy Management’s (BOEM) Upcoming tracts sold has decreased over time. Between
Five-Year Outer Continental Shelf Program. 2000 and 2009, BOEM sold an average of 319
lease tracts at each of its sales in the Gulf of
BOEM is in the process of preparing a new Mexico. Between 2010 and 2019, the average
Five-Year National Outer Continental Shelf number of lease tracts sold dropped to 157.
(OCS) Leasing Program (“Five-Year Program''), The overall picture is clear: there is a stark
a document that outlines the size, timing, imbalance between the supply of offshore
and location of proposed oil and gas lease leases and the demand for additional offshore
sales. With the current Five-Year Program set oil. This is true even without considering the
to expire on June 30, 2022, the time is ripe scientific and moral imperative to rapidly
to align the next Five-Year Program with the reduce greenhouse gas emissions to prevent
nation’s climate obligations. the worst harms from climate change.
Crucially, it is well within the Interior Such new developments would do nothing to
Secretary’s authority under 43 U.S.C. § 1344 lower high gas prices in the near or mid term
of OCSLA to end new offshore oil and gas and would take close to a decade to begin
leasing in federal waters by providing for no producing. The truth is that gas prices are
new lease sales in BOEM’s next Five-Year largely determined by global energy markets
Program – and the administration should do and geopolitical events, not domestic
just that. This unique opportunity would end policies. Meanwhile, the oil and gas industry
new leasing on all offshore lands in the OCS likes to cite a 2016 BOEM analysis, which
while the new five-year plan is operative, and found that greenhouse gas emissions would
would cover all four OCS regions – the Atlantic, slightly increase if no OCS lease sales were
Pacific, Alaska, and the Gulf of Mexico. Such held, as demand for oil would be filled by
a decision would have profound climate and foreign sources that created more emissions
environmental justice benefits, from reducing than Gulf drilling. But three separate courts
greenhouse gas pollution rates, to protecting have determined that this 2016 analysis is
vital ecosystems, along with the health of flawed: the U.S. Federal Court of Appeals for
affected communities. the Ninth Circuit, and U.S. District Courts in
the District of Alaska and D.C. BOEM is also in
Under OCSLA, decisions to offer OCS leases the process of redoing this analysis and fixing
are driven by an assessment of what would flaws. Despite industry mistruths, experts
“best meet national energy needs,” and must are clear that expanding offshore oil and gas
be consistent with environmental protection, development is incompatible with the fight to
and other economic and social values. avert climate catastrophe.
Given the industry’s significant stockpile of
existing offshore leases, the urgent need to The Biden administration must prioritize the
address climate change, and readily available public health of Gulf frontline communities
alternatives, additional lease sales are not and a safer climate for all – by taking any new
necessary to meet the nation’s energy needs. OCS leasing off the table. Doing so would
Moreover, interest in offshore lease sales has
Meeting the Moment Policy Recommendations 16not only fulfill the President’s campaign operations is also urgently needed. Recent
commitment, but would demonstrate the bold studies have shown that existing operations
climate and environmental justice leadership in the Gulf of Mexico emit more than double
Americans elected him to provide. This is a previous estimates, amounts twice those
clear opportunity for President Biden to stand from onshore operations in the Bakken.
strong in the face of misinformation and There are numerous readily-available control
climate denialism and inspire a generation of technologies or process changes that could
young people looking to him to deliver. be immediately applied to stop or curb these
emissions. This type of regulation would also
• Tackling Existing Offshore Oil and likely have broad support. Developing and
Gas Operations adopting effective regulations should be a
high priority for DOI.
In addition to ending new offshore leasing, the
Biden administration must address existing
offshore oil and gas operations. As the Tyndall This is a clear
Report notes, countries like the U.S. must opportunity for
phase down oil and gas production by 74%
by 2030 and completely phase it out by 2034.
President Biden to
While the Biden administration devises a stand strong in the face
longer-term strategy to meet these goals, DOI
should implement a shorter-term overhaul
of misinformation and
of its review of development activities for climate denialism and
existing offshore leases.
inspire a generation of
First, DOI must improve its environmental young people looking
analysis for exploration plans and subsequent
development or production steps, including
to him to deliver.
permits to drill. BOEM and Bureau of Safety BOEM and BSEE should also develop better
and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) often regulations to monitor and enforce the safety
approve exploration and development plans of offshore pipelines to reduce the number
as well as grant permits to drill without doing of spills and accidents. The need to do
the thorough environmental review that NEPA this was most recently exemplified by the
requires. BOEM and BSEE should require full October 2021 Amplify Energy oil spill, when
and robust assessments of climate impacts pipeline off Huntington Beach, California
under NEPA for each of these stages to ruptured, spilling more than 126,000 gallons
give regulators more information about the of oil, closing beaches, leaving dead fish
environmental effects and tailored conditions and seabirds in its wake, and decimating a
necessary to eliminate or reduce those effects. fragile wetlands ecosystem. Meanwhile, the
Such full and fair analysis will demonstrate Coast Guard continues to track oil leaks in
that “business-as-usual” approvals are not the Gulf of Mexico from oil infrastructure
in line with the responsible management of damaged during Hurricane Ida. In 2021, the
our public waters, President Biden’s climate Government Accountability Office (GAO)
goals, or the demands of the climate crisis. published a report showing that DOI does
not adequately conduct subsea inspections
Adopting comprehensive regulations to curb of offshore pipelines or ensure that oil
methane emissions from existing offshore companies properly decommission older
Meeting the Moment Policy Recommendations 17pipelines. DOI should implement regulations The Biden administration took a step in
that increase and improve inspections, the right direction by limiting most of the
improve leak detection systems, and improve proposed June 2022 lease sales to offer a
decommissioning requirements for pipelines. reduced number of parcels in each state,
generally concentrated in areas with existing
B. Federal Onshore Oil and development. However, the administration
Gas Production still plans to hold a large lease sale in
Wyoming, directly counter to the Biden
administration’s goals and past promises
• Require that Any New Onshore Lease
on climate. At the current proposed scale,
Sales Are Consistent with National
it represents a large carbon bomb, with its
Climate Goals
own social cost of carbon analysis noting
For more than a decade, DOI has offered that extensive damages will occur. Nothing in
millions of acres of public lands for new the law, or recent court decisions, requires
onshore leasing with very little regard to the leasing at this scale.
impacts on our climate. In April 2022, the
Biden administration announced that it plans • Large-Scale Secretarial Withdrawals to
to offer 173 parcels across 144,000 acres Benefit the Climate and Wildlife Habitat
for onshore leasing in Wyoming, Colorado,
DOI should embark on strategic, large-
Montana, North Dakota, Utah, New Mexico,
scale withdrawals of lands from fossil fuel
and Nevada – despite its pledge to end oil
leasing. Under FLPMA, the Secretary of the
and gas leasing on public lands. Instead of
Interior is authorized to withdraw lands for
forging ahead with new onshore lease sales,
particular uses for up to 20 years, without
the Biden administration can take necessary
statutory limitation as to the size of the area.
steps this year to advance its climate agenda
The Secretary of the Interior must use this
by fundamentally changing DOI’s approach to
authority to withdraw significant lands from
onshore oil and gas leasing, by requiring that
fossil fuel production.
any new leasing conforms with our national
climate commitments.
For example, a withdrawal could be directed
at lands where there is overlap between
As a practical matter, this means that any
important wildlife habitat and potential oil
new leasing that does occur must be very
and gas development. Such withdrawals, if
limited and subject to strict requirements for
they are large enough, could have significant
protecting the environment. In addition, all
benefits for both climate and land and
proposed sales must be subject to rigorous
wildlife protection and would help realize
analysis of their climate impacts under
the goal of the administration’s America the
NEPA, which would give decisionmakers the
Beautiful initiative of protecting 30% of lands
information they need to determine whether
and waters by 2030.
further sales are consistent with climate
imperatives. DOI must also include in these
• Protect the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
analyses an assessment of the cumulative
effects of leasing decisions on frontline Protecting the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
communities, as long required by NEPA. (“the Refuge”) in Alaska is critical to President
Biden meeting his climate and environmental
justice goals. The Gwich’in Nation, whose
Meeting the Moment Policy Recommendations 18people have lived in and stewarded these pass separate legislation that permanently
lands for more than 20,000 years, has protects the coastal plain.
consistently called for the protection of the
Refuge, which they refer to as “the sacred • Limit Rate of Fossil Fuel Production on
place where life begins.” The Gwich’in have Existing Onshore Leases and Projects to
long relied on the Porcupine Caribou herd to Align with Climate Commitments
meet their subsistence needs, which annually
As of the end of FY 2021, there were more
bear their young in the coastal plain of the
than 35,000 existing federal onshore oil and
Arctic Refuge. Scientific research also tells us
gas leases. Given these numbers, and the
that Arctic oil and gas reserves must remain
amount of carbon contained in those lands,
in the ground to avoid the most dangerous
limiting production from existing leases is also
levels of climate change.
essential to meet climate goals. The Biden
administration has ample authority under the
On June 1st, 2021, the Biden administration
terms of those leases, and applicable laws,
suspended oil and gas leases in the Refuge,
to do so.
following a temporary moratorium on oil and
gas leasing activities on the Refuge’s coastal
The terms of all standard oil and gas leases
plain issued via executive order on President
give DOI authority to limit rates of production
Biden’s first day in office. Republicans in
and development, and to suspend operations
Congress and former President Trump had
and production on leases. The Biden
previously used the 2017 Tax Act to open
administration should use this authority to
the Refuge to oil and gas drilling, including
require that any new production on existing
language mandating two lease sales. The first
leases is consistent with meeting U.S. climate
lease sale held under the mandate was an
commitments, similar to the approach for
epic failure that yielded less than 1% of the
new leasing. Limits on rates of production
$1.8 billion in revenue promised by drilling
and suspensions of existing leases can be
advocates, and received no bids from any
used separately or in combination depending
major oil company. Since then, every major
on the circumstances of a given lease or
bank in the U.S. has ruled out financing oil
project to ensure that development does not
and gas exploration in the Arctic. A review of
undercut our national climate commitments.
the Trump administration’s leasing program in
the Refuge found multiple legal deficiencies
that would make the leases unlawful,
including insufficient analysis required by
environmental laws and a failure to assess
other alternatives.
The Biden administration’s ongoing review of
the Trump-issued leases in the Refuge should
be applauded, and the review should conclude
that the leases are unlawful and must be
rescinded. In addition to this review, the
administration should work with Congress to
pass a reconciliation bill repealing the drilling
mandate from the 2017 Tax Act and canceling
the existing leases. Congress must ultimately
Meeting the Moment Policy Recommendations 19• Prohibit Methane Venting and Flaring on • Stop Massive Onshore Lease Projects, Like
Public Lands the Willow Project
Methane, the primary component of fossil DOI has the authority to prevent projects that
gas, is a highly potent global warming agent. would be disastrous for the environment and
It is around 80 times as powerful as carbon lock in years of oil extraction and emissions.
dioxide at trapping heat over two decades. ConocoPhillips’s Willow Project in Alaska’s
Fossil fuel companies producing oil and gas Western Arctic, which DOI recently solicited
from public lands regularly leak, vent, and public input for, is the largest single oil and
flare massive amounts of methane into gas drilling operation currently proposed on
the atmosphere, exacerbating the climate federal lands. If the Biden administration
crisis and undercutting the administration’s decides to move forward with the Willow
abilities to achieve its climate goals. However, Project, it would result in some 260 million
the Biden administration has the opportunity metric tons of carbon emissions (or 66 coal
to stop this harmful practice and the Bureau plants) – an enormous contribution from a
of Land Management (BLM) should move single project, and a dangerous precedent for
swiftly to prohibit the routine venting and other projects to get the greenlight from the
flaring of methane gas. Doing so would also government. Now, BLM must deny the permit
have the co-benefit of decreasing emissions for this project.
of other harmful pollutants like benzene
that are emitted alongside methane, and The Willow Project was approved by the Trump
which pose a direct public health threat to administration, but following an August 2020
the frontline communities living adjacent to federal court decision that threw out the
these operations. Trump approval for its failure to assess the
project’s climate impacts, President Biden
is reconsidering the project. In March 2022,
more than 140 organizations and businesses
The Willow Project could create
pollution equivalent to 66 coal-fired
power plants.
Photo: © 2017 BLM Alaska/Flickr cc by 2.0
Willow Project
259 million metric tons
of carbon pollution Annual pollution of
1 coal-fired power plant
Meeting the Moment Policy Recommendations 20urged Secretary Haaland to reject the Willow C. Federal Coal Mining
Project, calling the decision “legacy-defining,”
and warning her that approving the project • Reissue a Coal Leasing Moratorium
could commit the U.S. to at least another
30 years of fossil fuel extraction. In fact, an In the second half of 2022, BLM can
analysis of the Willow Project suggests that immediately get to work on ending new
the project, if approved and implemented, leasing of federal coal, one of the dirtiest
would single-handedly negate the greenhouse sources of energy in America, that threatens
gas emissions avoided by meeting the our environment and public health. After
administration’s renewable energy goals on all, coal production in wealthy producing
public lands for the year 2030. Willow would countries like the U.S. needs to fall by 50%
do nothing to lower gas prices in the near or within five years and be eliminated by 2030.
mid term, either, given that it would take a To end new leasing of federal coal, President
minimum of 5 years of construction before Biden’s BLM must issue a full coal leasing
any oil would flow from the facility. moratorium, without exceptions, that
immediately halts new leasing while the
BLM should fully consider the impacts to administration evaluates ways to permanently
the fragile and irreplaceable Western Arctic end new leases and phase out production on
against the backdrop of the dramatic climate existing leases. A leasing moratorium, without
changes that are predicted to occur over the loopholes that reduced the effectiveness
the next 30 years in the region. An honest of the Obama moratorium, would put a
assessment will make clear that the project hard limit on the industry’s expansion while
as proposed poses unacceptable risks. allowing the administration to reset strategic
Interior should deny approval for the proposal planning in a way that will ultimately decrease
pursuant to its authority under 42 U.S.C. § greenhouse gas emissions and deadly
6506a(b) of the Naval Petroleum Reserves pollution, and would be integral to meeting
Production Act (NPRPA) to “provide for such U.S. Paris Agreement obligations.
conditions, restrictions, and prohibitions as
the Secretary deems necessary or appropriate Under the Mineral Leasing Act (MLA), the
to mitigate reasonably foreseeable and Secretary of the Interior is authorized, but
significantly adverse effects on the surface not required, to offer lands for leasing by
resources of the National Petroleum Reserve competitive bidding (30 U.S.C. § 201(a) (1)).
in Alaska.” Also, BLM should fully reassess the This authority permitted DOI to impose
purpose and need for this project, basing it in a moratorium on coal leasing under the
the agency’s obligation to protect the surface Obama administration, as the Secretary
resources in the Reserve. has done historically while it has adopted
program reforms.
Denying the approval of the Willow Project
would be an important step in the fulfillment Interior Secretary Haaland has already
of the Biden administration's commitments signaled her intent to prompt needed coal
to sound policy and science, and deliver program reforms, but BLM has not yet taken
on the president's long-term climate and action to do so. In April 2021, Secretary
environmental justice promises to voters. Haaland issued Secretarial Order 3398, which
nominally revoked a Trump-era order that
had rescinded the Obama-era coal-leasing
moratorium. SO 3398 directed BLM to review
Meeting the Moment Policy Recommendations 21You can also read
