Oceana Criticizes Inclusion of Bad Offshore Drilling Provisions in Inflation Reduction Act, Calls on President Biden to Uphold No New Drilling Pledge
Press Release Date: August 7, 2022
Location: Washington
Contact:
Dustin Cranor, APR | email: dcranor@oceana.org | tel: 954.348.1314
Today, Oceana’s Vice President for the United States, Beth Lowell, issued the following statement in reaction to the Senate’s passage of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA):
“Today marks a major milestone toward achieving the emissions reductions critically needed to reduce the worst impacts of climate change. While we celebrate the most impressive climate investments ever passed by Congress, the IRA also includes bad offshore drilling provisions that benefit the fossil fuel industry and place an unfair burden on Gulf of Mexico and Alaska communities. Mandated offshore drilling flies in the face of President Biden’s campaign commitment to end new leasing for dirty and dangerous offshore drilling. New offshore drilling leases compromise efforts to address the climate crisis and won’t help lower gas prices. President Biden must reaffirm and uphold his promise to end new oil and gas leasing by finalizing a five-year program with no new lease sales.”