Sierra Club: Scaled Back Offshore Drilling Plan Proposes Three Lease Sales in Coming Years

Today, the Department of the Interior released a proposed five-year plan for offshore drilling. The proposal includes three lease sales in 2025, 2027, and 2029. The proposed list of lease sales is the smallest possible the Biden Administration could offer while remaining in compliance with the Inflation Reduction Act’s requirements for mandated lease sales.

Contrary to the fossil fuel industry’s alarmist claims, new research shows that eliminating new oil and gas leasing would not meaningfully impact energy prices.

In response, Sierra Club Executive Director Ben Jealous released the following statement:

“While President Biden correctly only offered the smallest possible proposed leasing program, even one sale is one too many. Communities in the central and western Gulf are on the frontlines of climate change, offshore drilling disasters, and the pollution caused by extractive activities. Further leasing only furthers the threats to their homes, their health, and their future. At a time when we should be rapidly moving away from fossil fuels to meet our climate commitments and avert the worst effects of the climate crisis, issuing more oil and gas leases is the last thing we should be doing. Congress must fix these statutory mistakes and end new offshore drilling once and for all."