With the Willow Project trending recently, it is worthwhile to learn what it entails and why it is so disputed. The Willow Project was proposed by the corporation ConocoPhillips (a petroleum company). It is the combination of Conoco and Phillips. This is worth noting, because Phillips represents all Phillips 66 gas stations (of which there are around 7,550 in the United States). These account for roughly 10% of all gas stations in the United States. As with every controversial political move, there are two sides to the Willow Project’s approval. The project, which will instate oil drilling sites in Alaska, is the largest proposed drilling project on public land in the United States. According to Associated Press, “The project could produce up to 180,000 barrels of oil a day, according to the company — about 1.5% of total U.S. oil production.”
The Willow Project has been vehemently opposed by environmental activists, who argue that the project’s approval goes against the Biden administration’s environmental promises. Among many other pledges, the Biden-Harris administration claimed that they would “address the climate emergency and lead through the power of example, by ensuring the U.S. achieves a 100% clean energy economy and net-zero emissions no later than 2050.”
Clean energy is specifically energy that does not produce pollution. One of the main points in Biden’s environmental plan was to “incentivize the rapid deployment of clean energy innovations across the economy, especially in communities most impacted by climate change.” Many argue that his recent approval of the Willow Project was hypocritical; to truly incentivize clean energy, there would be a major focus on solar, wind, and hydropower.
Though the approval of this project goes against Biden’s outlined climate plan, I think it’s important to note that this did not happen in a vacuum. The Willow Project was initially proposed and approved under the Trump Administration - “[In 2020,] ConocoPhillips was initially approved to construct five drill pads, which the Biden administration ultimately reduced to three.” The original approval of this project, along with ConocoPhillips’ valid leases, meant that the Biden Administration may have faced legal action from the company had the project been rejected.
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