AP sources: Biden approves Alaska oil project

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden’s administration approves the massive Willow oil project in Alaska’s oil-rich North Slope, according to two people familiar with the decision.

The move announced Monday, one of Biden’s most significant climate moves, faces condemnation from environmentalists who say it flies in the face of the Democratic president’s green pledges.

Environmentalists have been outraged that Biden appears willing to greenlight the project, which they say endangers Biden’s green legacy. Allowing oil company ConocoPhillips to go ahead with the drilling plan will also break Biden’s campaign promise to stop new oil drilling on public lands, they point out.

ConocoPhillips Alaska’s Willow project could produce up to 180,000 barrels of oil per day, create up to 2,500 jobs during construction, 300 long-term jobs, and generate billions of dollars in royalties and tax revenue for the government federal, states and municipalities, explained the company.

The project, located in Alaska’s federally designated National Petroleum Reserve, has huge political support in the state. Alaska Native state lawmakers recently met with Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland to ask for support for Willow.

But environmental activists have promoted the #StopWillow (#FrenenWillow) campaign on social media, in a bid to remind Biden of his promises to cut global-warming greenhouse gas emissions and promote clean energy.