One campaigner said the"cursory approval of more than 3,500 drilling permits contradicts President Biden's pledges to address the terrifying threat of climate change."Citing a trio of federal laws, environmental organizations sued the Biden administration on Wednesday for further jeopardizing"climate-imperiled species" by issuing more than 3,500 oil and gas drilling permits on public lands in New Mexico and Wyoming.
The lawsuit targets Biden's Interior Department and an agency within it—the Bureau of Land Management —as well as the leaders of each, arguing that the administration's drilling permit approvals violate the Endangered Species Act, the Federal Land Policy and Management Act, and the National Environmental Policy Act.
Kyle Tisdel of the Western Environmental Law Center, who filed the suit Wednesday, highlighted the disconnect between the need for climate action now and the administration's decisions. The case comes as scientists highlight the connections between the climate emergency and biodiversity crisis, with one paper published earlier this month in the journalthat"as the window to avoid far-reaching and irreversible impacts on people and nature rapidly closes, the current actions to address these global challenges are insufficient.
CenterForBioDiv wildearthguard westernlaw Thank you!