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gwich in steering committee
Now End All the Drilling, Campaigners Say as Biden Rescinds Arctic Refuge Leases
"Our sacred land is only temporarily safe from oil and gas development," said one First Nations leader, urging Congress and the White House to "permanently protect the Arctic Refuge."
Sep 06, 2023
Indigenous tribes and climate campaigners applauded the Biden administration's announcement Wednesday that it will cancel all existing oil and gas drilling leases in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska and ban drilling across 13 million acres of the National Petroleum Reserve, while hundreds of groups also called on the U.S. Interior Department to go further on fossil fuel leasing.
Biden's move in Alaska will reverse former Republican President Donald Trump's approval of a 2017 law that required leasing in the Arctic Refuge, the nation's largest area of pristine wilderness which is home to vulnerable species including polar bears, migratory birds, and caribou.
The Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority (AIDEA) holds the last remaining leases in the refuge, after two other lessees canceled drilling plans. AIDEA's leases would have allowed it to drill in 365,000 acres in the Arctic Refuge's coastal plain.
The Biden administration conducted an environmental analysis of the lease sale which found "multiple legal deficiencies."
Jamie Williams, president of the Wilderness Society, said that following the Biden administration's announcement, "our climate is a bit safer and there is renewed hope for permanently protecting one of the last great wild landscapes in America" as Indigenous communities can continue to depend on the porcupine caribou herd, which uses the refuge as its calving ground.
"We are profoundly grateful to the Biden administration for taking this step to protect what the Gwich'in [First Nations people] know as Iizhik Gwats’an Gwandaii Goodlit—The Sacred Place Where Life Begins—and we call on Congress to repeal the Arctic Refuge oil and gas leasing provision in the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act and take action to permanently protect the coastal plain for future generations," said Williams.
Bernadette Dementieff, executive director of the Gwich'in Steering Committee, added that the tribe knows "that our sacred land is only temporarily safe from oil and gas development."
"AIDEA's leases were economically infeasible, unlawful, and threatened the porcupine caribou herd and the Gwich'in way of life. We thank the Biden administration and Secretary of Interior Deb Haaland for taking this step," said Dementieff. "We urge the administration and our leaders in Congress to repeal the oil and gas program and permanently protect the Arctic Refuge."
U.S. Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) also said Congress should make the protections permanent.
The protections announced Wednesday will not stop the Willow oil drilling project that Biden approved in March, allowing ConocoPhillips to potentially extract more than 600 million barrels of crude oil over 30 years, leading to roughly 280 million metric tons of heat-trapping carbon dioxide emissions.
“The only way to meaningfully combat the climate crisis is by stopping new fossil fuel projects," said Wenonah Hauter, executive director of Food & Water Watch. "The Biden administration is right to stop these egregious drilling plans—and they must apply the same standard to all other oil drilling and fracking operations in the country."
"Today's action is a reminder that the White House has considerable authority to rein in fossil fuels," she added. "It's time for the president to act on those powers."
Earthjustice expressed hope that the announcement will be "the tip of the iceberg" for protections in Alaska.
The protections will also not stop the Biden administration from allowing drilling elsewhere, including in the National Outer Continental Shelf, where the Interior Department is expected to announce a five-year leasing plan this month which could include as many as 11 offshore oil and gas leases with the potential to emit up to 3.5 billion tons of carbon pollution.
Groups including Earthjustice, Defenders of Wildlife, and Oil Change International were among more than 200 groups that wrote to the Interior Department on Wednesday calling for the plan to include no new leases.
"Today's youth should not have to grow up in and inherit a world plagued by oil spills," wrote the groups. "We implore you, please end offshore drilling leasing in the Gulf of Mexico and all U.S. oceans, so we can start to undo the damage from decades of leaks and spills, protect our shores forever from a catastrophic oil spill, and enjoy a livable future."
Raena Garcia, a senior campaigner with Friends of the Earth, said Wednesday's announcements by the Interior Department, while laudable and important, do not wipe away the shortcomings of Biden's overall climate policy and "simply don't go far enough."
"Lease sales like those in the ANWR that were put forth by the Trump Administration should have never happened in the first place," said Garcia. "Small measures like the ones the Department of Interior put forward won't erase President Biden's incredibly disappointing climate record with respect to oil and gas leasing. If the Administration is truly committed to protecting our people and the planet, they will halt climate-destroying projects like Willow altogether."
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As ExxonMobil Dismisses Drilling in Arctic Refuge, Locals Say 'Congress Must Act'
"This is a significant win for the Arctic and for the climate," said one campaigner. "Don't just take our word for it, take Exxon's: Oil and gas drilling in the Arctic is bad business."
Apr 17, 2023
Defenders of Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge on Monday welcomed ExxonMobil's statement to shareholders that the fossil fuel giant has no plans for drilling in ANWR but also renewed calls for Congress to pass legislation to protect the region once and for all.
"This is a significant win for the Arctic and for the climate. Don't just take our word for it, take Exxon's: Oil and gas drilling in the Arctic is bad business," declared Sierra Club senior campaign representative Mike Scott, urging President Joe Biden to "seize this opportunity to permanently protect the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and the people who depend on it."
Congressional Republicans and then-President Donald Trump opened up ANWR to fossil fuel development with their 2017 tax package. After taking office in 2021, Biden issued an executive order to halt drilling activity in the refuge, and later that year, his administration launched a new environmental review of the leasing program for the area.
However, neither Biden nor Congress has heeded calls from Indigenous and climate leaders who want to protect the refuge from fossil fuel development that would endanger local wildlife, sacred land, and the warming planet.
"ExxonMobil is recognizing what others have been saying for years: High-risk drilling for Arctic oil on land that is sacred to Indigenous people is bad business."
ExxonMobil's new comments about ANWR came in a proxy statement sent to shareholders last week ahead of the May 31 annual meeting. The company's board of directors urged shareholders to vote against a Green Century Capital Management proposal that would require a new report on the pros and cons of not engaging in oil and gas exploration and production in the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Program (AMAP) region, particularly within the refuge.
Explaining its opposition to the proposal, ExxonMobil's board called the Green Century Capital Management's motives "disingenuous" and argued that its existing reporting is sufficient. The board also highlighted that "ExxonMobil does not hold any active leases and is not pursuing any active developments within the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR)."
Additionally, the board said, "our current investment plans do not include exploration activity within the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Program (AMAP) region, and we plan relatively limited investment to sustain our existing interests in the region."
Noting that ExxonMobil's statement comes after "Chevron, Hilcorp, and 88 Energy canceled their Arctic Refuge leases last year," Environment America Public Lands campaign director Ellen Montgomery urged Congress and the Biden administration "to act to permanently protect this special place."
Karlin Itchoak, Alaska regional director for the Wilderness Society, similarly said that "ExxonMobil is recognizing what others have been saying for years: High-risk drilling for Arctic oil on land that is sacred to Indigenous people is bad business."
"The calving ground of the porcupine caribou herd is not only a beautiful, wild place that is worthy of protection. It is vital to the food security and cultural survival of local communities," Itchoak added. "Other industry leaders should follow ExxonMobil's example, and Congress must act to protect for future generations."
\u201c"ExxonMobil\u2019s announcement is another strong indication that major oil companies view drilling in the Arctic Refuge as a bad investment, and an indication that a 2024 Arctic Refuge lease sale... would be as big a failure as the first."\n\nhttps://t.co/GoXOQkUFpL\u201d— Western Priorities (@Western Priorities) 1681759878
Bernadette Demientieff, executive director of the Gwich'in Steering Committee, also urged "all companies—and their investors—to reject development in ecologically sensitive and biologically rich areas that would threaten lands, water, wildlife and a way of life for the Indigenous peoples that have occupied these lands for thousands of years—including Iizhik Gwats'an Gwandaii Goodlit (the sacred place where life begins)."
"Many of these are not only important to protect for our future generations but are sacred to the people who have cared for these lands since time immemorial," Demientieff added. "Companies or money cannot divide our people from our lands that are sacred. We are asking for ExxonMobil and all companies to respect our rights, including our right to free, prior, and informed consent."
While acknowledging that ExxonMobil's current position "addresses the concerns of the Gwich'in," First Peoples Worldwide executive director Kate Finn stressed that "without a comprehensive policy to operationalize free, prior, and informed consent, companies remain exposed to economic and legal risks that come from a failure to respect Indigenous peoples' rights."
Kristen Miller, executive director of Alaska Wilderness League, also welcomed ExxonMobil's move and pointed out that it "fits with the larger trend," before highlighting other fights related to climate-wrecking fossil fuel development.
"Exxon's response to this shareholder resolution demonstrates clearly that big corporations have read the handwriting on the wall. Arctic oil extraction isn't worth the risks," said Miller. "We now look to ConocoPhillips, which has yet to make a final investment decision on the Willow project, and urge them to see that investing in Arctic oil is a bad business decision."
The Biden administration came under fire last month for greenlighting the 30-year Willow project, which green groups are challenging in court. The administration faced further criticism last week for approving a proposed liquified natural gas project in Alaska.
"Right after the horrific Willow decision," said Center for Biological Diversity attorney Liz Jones, "it's painful to see Biden officials greenlight an even bigger fossil fuel project that will destroy Arctic habitat and feed the climate crisis."
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Insurance Giant Chubb Praised for Ban on Underwriting Arctic Refuge Drilling
While a Gwich'in Steering Committee leader said the policy "is a first for the American insurance industry and shows leadership to protect sacred lands," Chubb's board opposes climate and human rights shareholder resolutions.
Apr 10, 2023
An Indigenous organization on Monday applauded Chubb for joining global insurers and major banks in refusing to underwrite new fossil fuel development within the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska.
"After the Arctic Refuge was opened for oil and gas development, we have met with and encouraged financial institutions and insurance companies to respect the people who live and thrive off this land, which we consider very sacred," explained Bernadette Demientieff, executive director of the Gwich'in Steering Committee.
"Since our first meeting, all corporate leaseholders have exited the refuge and every major U.S. and Canadian bank refuses to underwrite such projects," she said. "Chubb's policy is a first for the American insurance industry and shows leadership to protect sacred lands."
"The Gwich'in and the porcupine caribou herd depend upon Iizhik Gwats'an Gwandaii Goodlit," or the sacred place where life begins, "for our identity, our culture, and our ways of life," Demientieff added. "We and the animals we care for are intrinsically linked to this land, and we are grateful to Chubb for this policy."
\u201cGreat news from the @OurArcticRefuge--recent direct action pressure from @RAN @Public_Citizen @nychange @riseandresistny resulted in this win!\n\nWill the company rule out the North Brooklyn pipeline, Willow Project and other major US oil and gas? \n\nhttps://t.co/2WoiPO2meO\u201d— Mary Lovell (she/they) (@Mary Lovell (she/they)) 1681144344
The group pointed out Monday that though American International Group (AIG) early last month "announced a policy to not underwrite oil and gas projects in the Arctic, it was unclear whether this encompassed the Arctic Refuge," and the company "has not responded to outreach from the Gwich'in Steering Committee and allies" seeking clarification.
Chubb in late March announced new underwriting standards for oil and gas extraction projects. Along with adopting criteria for methane emissions, the company said at the time that "effective immediately, Chubb will not underwrite oil and gas extraction projects in protected areas designated by state, provincial, or national governments."
In Chubb's invitation and proxy statement for its upcoming annual general meeting, the company specifically mentions the Arctic Refuge:
Chubb has consistently been a proactive leader on climate risk management, including by being the first major insurer in the U.S. to announce a coal policy for its underwriting and investment activity in 2019; establishing an oil sands policy in 2022; adopting in 2023 a policy prohibiting underwriting oil and gas extraction projects in certain government-protected conservation areas, including the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR), and we intend to develop further conservation criteria for the Arctic, mangroves, peatlands, key biodiversity areas, and recognized conservation areas that allow for resource use by the end of 2023.
That section of the statement details the Chubb board of directors' opposition to a climate-related shareholder proposal from the legal advocacy group As You Sow, filed on behalf of Warren Wilson College and co-filers Jubitz Foundation and the Meyer Memorial Trust.
As You Sow's proposal would require Chubb to issue a report disclosing medium- and long-term greenhouse gas targets for its underwriting, insuring, and investment activities in line with the 1.5°C temperature goal of the Paris climate agreement.
The company's board claims that "Chubb shares the proponent's goal of achieving a net-zero economy by 2050. We disagree that forcing Chubb to set targets related to the emissions produced by its insureds, rather than Chubb's own emissions, would advance that goal."
After the insurer unveiled its new underwriting standards in March, As You Sow president Danielle Fugere responded that "we are pleased to see Chubb begin to focus on climate and conservation-focused underwriting standards, yet question the impact these announced standards will have."
"Most large oil and gas companies have programs in place for methane-related 'leak detection and repair' and programs related to the 'elimination of non-emergency venting,'" she noted. "Whether Chubb's policy will change the actions of oil and gas companies or Chubb's own underwriting of oil and gas projects is therefore unclear."
"Chubb's own reporting will not answer that question," Fugere added. "Chubb does not currently report the greenhouse gas emissions associated with its insuring, underwriting, and investing activities so the company remains largely unaccountable to investors with regard to its climate contribution or its reduction of greenhouse gas emissions."
\u201cWe support @Chubb\u2019s new focus on climate and conservation-focused underwriting standards. However, until the insurer reports the greenhouse gas emissions associated with its activities, the company remains largely unaccountable to shareholders.\nhttps://t.co/n59iW4Jupz\u201d— As You Sow (@As You Sow) 1680534076
Liz Marin, missing and surviving Indigenous peoples director with Seeding Sovereignty, stressed last month that "Chubb is recognizing the importance of protected land in this policy, but there are so many sacred ecosystems that do not have protected area designations facing threats from oil and gas drilling. For example, it's unclear if this policy would be applicable to the recently approved Willow project on the North Slope of Alaska, which poses major risks to Iñupiaq communities and the land, water, and wildlife."
The Chubb board of directors is also encouraging shareholders to vote against a proposal from Domini Impact Investments LLC, as representative of the Domini U.S. Impact Equity Fund, that would require a report "describing how human rights risks and impacts are evaluated and incorporated in the underwriting process."
The board argues in part that "Chubb reports extensively regarding its policies and actions that implicate human rights and, therefore, complying with the proposal would be repetitive and impose an unnecessary burden on the company."
The Gwich'in Steering Committee, meanwhile, expressed support for the Domini proposal on Monday.
"We call upon investors to vote in favor of the shareholder proposal on human rights at Chubb's annual general meeting on May 17," said Demientieff. "Companies cannot divide our people from this sacred place. We must be involved in all decisions where there are impacts to our land, animals, and communities. We call on Chubb and all companies to respect our rights, including our right to free, prior, and informed consent."
In 2021, the Biden administration launched a review of its predecessor's controversial decision to open up ANWR to fossil fuel drilling. While Indigenous and climate groups welcomed that move, they continue to call for permanent regional protections. More recently, many organizations and campaigners have also criticized the current administration for approving the Willow project.
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