The Willow Project: Economic Savior or Climate Bomb?
By: Isabela Morales
What is the Willow Project?
The Willow Project is an $8 billion dollar proposal from ConocoPhillips for an expansive project to drill oil on the government-owned National Petroleum Reserve on the North Slope of Alaska.
According to CNN, this area holds nearly 600 million barrels of oil but would not reach actual consumers for years because the project has still not been developed.
The Willow Project is an $8 billion dollar proposal from ConocoPhillips for an expansive project to drill oil on the government-owned National Petroleum Reserve on the North Slope of Alaska.
According to CNN, this area holds nearly 600 million barrels of oil but would not reach actual consumers for years because the project has still not been developed.
What do supporters of the Willow Project say?
According to the New York Times, President Biden is expected to approve the Willow Project because of pushes from Alaska oil executives and lawmakers who argue that the project could potentially increase the production of gas in a time of unstable prices.
Wendy Schiller, a political science professor at Brown University, believes Biden is looking to raise his potential to be re-elected in 2024 by approving the Willow Project because of the project’s potential to lower gas prices which will appeal to the swing states. “Americans are still heavily reliant on fossil fuels…any shortage or spike in prices will make voters nervous”
Yet, according to CNN, Biden did pledge in his campaign to stop any new oil drilling on federal land.
Kevin Book, managing director of Clearview Energy Partners, a research firm, believes the carbon emissions generated from the Willow Project would just be generated elsewhere if the project is not approved.
According to CNN, supporters of the project believe it will make the country less dependent on foreign oil and help the American economy by improving domestic energy production.
Further, according to the New York Times, some labor unions and even residents of the area in Alaska where the project is to take place argue that it would generate up to $17 billion dollars in revenue and create around 2,500 jobs.
What do opponents of the Willow Project say?
According to CNN, there has been an upsurge in online activism against the proposal because of its invasive and potentially damaging outcome.
Environmental activists argue the project would make America more dependent on oil at a time when stopping the use of fossil fuels is necessary to prevent catastrophic damage to the earth because of climate change.
According to the New York Times, the United States is the second largest environmental polluter in the world, currently emitting around 5.6 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide per year. Burning all the oil the Willow Project would provide could release almost 280 million metric tons of carbon emissions or an additional 9.2 million metric tons of carbon pollution annually.
The Bureau of Land Management recommended reducing the project’s size to three drilling sites instead of five and offsetting half of the emissions by doing things like planting trees to capture the carbon—an option the Biden administration is likely considering.
Temperatures in Alaska are expected to continue to increase at an alarming rate of 4 degrees Fahrenheit average over the period the Willow Project would be in operation—30 years.
Some Alaska natives who live in the area where the project is to take place, are worried that the Native village of Nuiqsuit would experience the worst of the environmental and health impacts while others would get some financial benefits.
What is to come?
The Willow Project has still not been given the greenlight by President BIden and is therefore still undecided.
There is no doubt a project like this would change the trajectory of the U.S. and the world. Though, people cannot agree on if this change would be for better or for worse.
At time of press, President Biden had not yet made a decision surrounding the Willow Project.