Mr. President,

Your administration’s approval of the Willow Project contradicts multiple promises you made to work toward a fossil fuel-free future. Approval of Arctic drilling releasing 260 million metric tons of carbon into the atmosphere over three decades will only exacerbate the climate crisis and put us behind schedule on your stated goal of a pollution-free energy sector by 2035. It’s past time to take a dedicated stand and — without exception — deny new fossil fuel leases and ban all further drilling on public lands and waterways.

With all due respect and recognition of your administration’s significant achievements on climate, it has also approved leases to oil companies who continue despoiling sensitive ecosystems and polluting the atmosphere. The Willow Project and other drilling, pipeline, and mining projects take us backward when we simply can’t afford to make mistakes. The health and future of our planet is on the line.

In addition, where fossil fuel development goes, the epidemic of Missing and Murdered Indigenous People (MMIP) follows. Mancamps, the temporary housing areas for workers on oil and gas projects, are often connected to a precipitous increase in violence toward Indigenous women and girls. Alaska Native women and girls already suffer violence at alarmingly high rates. Lives are on the line not just for future generations, but also for vulnerable populations today.

Mr. President, please take a firm stand. No more equivocation, no more exceptions, no more approvals of dirty energy projects in sensitive ecosystems that position Indigenous communities on the frontlines of the climate crisis. I ask that you make this pledge today, and should you run for reelection, add it as a plank of your 2024 campaign platform.