The Center for Biological Diversity said in a press release on Wednesday that the environmental nonprofit organization EarthJustice has issued a lawsuit, on behalf of the organization itself and several other interest groups, against the Biden administration for greenlighting the ConocoPhillips oil drilling project in Alaska. 

"The science is clear. We cannot afford any new oil or gas projects if we are going to avoid a climate catastrophe. Approving what would be the largest oil extraction project on federal lands is incredibly hypocritical from President Biden who in his State of the Union called the climate crisis an existential threat," the release said.  

The lawsuit states that the Biden administration failed to consider the project's full impact on the environment and poses an existential threat to certain species such as bearded and ringed seals and polar bears.

It further states that the development of an oil project would compromise the quality of land and spaces that are critical to animals protected under the Endangered Species Act. 

The lawsuit also takes the administration to task for failing to assess Willow’s full climate impact, by neglecting to consider the additional climate pollution of future development that can only happen once Willow project infrastructure is in place. pic.twitter.com/Ua9lcXiF8I

— Earthjustice (@Earthjustice) March 15, 2023

On March 13, the Biden administration approved the Willow Master Development Plan in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska which would enable the company to start drilling in three out of five drilling site locations proposed by the company. 

The project was previously rebuked in 2021 after Native Americans and environmental groups pressed charges against the Trump administration for poor assessment of the consequences on the climate and failure to propose less-harmful alternatives.  

The Biden administration revived the initiative while phasing it out by 40% to safeguard caribou migration and maintain fresh-water consumption. But as per the lawsuit put forth by Earthjustice, the project may result in irreparable damage to Arctic wildlife, local inhabitants, and the environment.  

With a projection of 600 million barrels of crude oil produced over the next three decades, the Willow Project is expected to boost domestic energy production, create jobs, and reduce the US's reliance on foreign oil.

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