Hi all,In September, the Biden administration will announce its offshore drilling leasing plan for the next five years, a critical opportunity for protecting communities and our climate from the harms of offshore drilling. In preparation for that decision, please consider joining the Protect All Our Coasts coalition on our coalition sign-on letter that calls on President Biden to offer no new offshore oil and gas leases sales in the upcoming Five-Year program. The coalition has also launched a public petition for individuals to sign that mirrors our organizational sign on letter and we would love your support for both. The issue of offshore drilling goes beyond oceans and fossil fuels: this is a climate issue, a community impacts issue, an environmental justice issue, and a wildlife issue.
What is the Five-Year Program?
This September, the Biden administration will put out its proposed plan for the next five years of offshore oil and gas leasing. These leases are the first step towards drilling for more oil and gas off of Alaska and in the Gulf of Mexico.
Our ask: Following the leadership of frontline leaders in the Gulf and Alaska, we are asking for the Biden administration to stand up to the fossil fuel industry and offer no new leases in this next five-year program. More oil and gas leasing would produce massive amounts of fossil fuels for decades from our public waters – further polluting our air and water and putting our coasts, communities, and marine life at risk of another major oil spill. Ending new oil and gas leasing will prevent new carbon emissions and help keep our planet habitable!
The coalition: The Protect All Our Coasts Coalition is a collective of national and local NGOs, aquariums, and business alliances who work together to prevent new offshore oil and gas drilling. If your organization is interested in getting more involved in preventing new offshore drilling, please respond directly to this email to learn more about joining the coalition.
It is abundantly clear that more offshore drilling is incompatible with maintaining a livable planet and meeting our climate goals. President Biden’s proposed offshore leasing plan could release anywhere from the same amount of carbon emissions as the Willow project (the largest fossil fuel project ever proposed on public lands) to 10 times more, according to the U.S. Department of the Interior’s own projections.
We have a short window of time between now and September to influence the administration’s decision on offshore oil and gas leases in the Five-Year Program, so we need all the support we can get to call for NO NEW LEASES! We would love your organization’s endorsement of the petition and your support in amplifying the petition for public signatures.
Please feel free to reach out with any questions and hope to have you join us!
Many thanks,