April 25, 2019 — Today, Interior Secretary David Bernhardt announced that his department has indefinitely sidelined plans to expand offshore and gas drilling. The decision comes in the wake of a pivotal federal court ruling in March that blocked nearly all drilling in Alaska. In response, Greenpeace USA Climate Campaign Director Janet Redman said:
“It’s ludicrous that the Trump administration wanted to open nearly every coast in this country for oil drilling in the first place. That’s the exact thing you shouldn’t do when scientists warn we have just a few years left to stave off climate catastrophe. Trump’s plan was wildly unpopular with voters from California to Maine — the only people upset about this announcement will be the swamp monsters who stood to profit from exploiting our oceans.
“Today marks an important but temporary victory for America’s coastal communities. The smartest move for our next president to make would be to permanently ban fossil fuel extraction on public lands and waters on day one in office.”
ENDS
Notes:
In March, US District Court Judge Sharon Gleason struck down a Trump executive order reversing an Obama-era ban on drilling in the US Arctic Ocean and select deep sea canyons in the Atlantic Ocean. The ruling comes after a coalition of environmental and Alaska Native groups, including Greenpeace, filed a lawsuit challenging the order in 2017. More information here.
Contact: Ryan Schleeter, Senior Communications Specialist, Greenpeace USA: +1 (415) 342-2386, [email protected]
