Oceana Reacts to Federal Judge’s Decision to Block Leasing Pause for Offshore Drilling
Press Release Date: June 16, 2021
Location: Washington
Contact:
Dustin Cranor, APR | email: dcranor@oceana.org | tel: 954.348.1314
Yesterday, a federal judge blocked President Biden’s offshore oil and gas leasing pause that was issued in January. In response, Oceana released the following statement from campaign director Diane Hoskins:
“The court’s ruling is deeply flawed and wrong. Fossil-fuel-driven climate change is wreaking havoc on the lives and livelihoods of all Americans, and President Biden’s leasing pause represents a critical and overdue reckoning. While the Court took issue with the pause, the Biden-Harris administration is well within its authority to limit further leasing for offshore drilling to protect coastal communities and economies. The impacts of dirty and dangerous offshore drilling are clear from disasters like BP’s Deepwater Horizon blowout. To avert even worse impacts from climate change, we must accelerate the transition from fossil fuels to clean, renewable energy like offshore wind. It is no longer in the public interest to continue down a path of unchecked dirty energy. We owe a serious evaluation to our kids, grandchildren, and all future generations.”