Gabby Brown, gabby.brown@sierraclub.org
Anchorage, AK -- This week, BP America Chairman and President Susan Dio gave the keynote address at a luncheon put on by the Alaska Resource Development Council, in which she expressed BP’s support for the Trump administration’s plan to sell off the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for oil and gas drilling.
Dio’s remarks come in the wake of mounting pressure on oil companies to stay out of the Arctic Refuge. Last month, a letter signed by investors representing more than $2.5 trillion in assets under management urged oil companies not to invest in drilling there, citing financial and reputational risks. The leaders of environmental and indigenous rights organizations also reached out privately to BP and other oil majors, inviting them to meet and discuss what’s at stake in the Arctic Refuge and the importance of leaving it intact.
In response, the Sierra Club, Gwich’in Steering Committee, Alaska Wilderness League, Native Movement, The Wilderness Society, Environment America, Defenders of Wildlife, Friends of the Earth US, Natural Resources Defense Council, Earthjustice, Oil Change International, Eyak Preservation Council, Northern Alaska Environmental Center, Fairbanks Climate Action Coalition, Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society Yukon Chapter, National Wildlife Refuge Association, Friends of Alaska National Wildlife Refuges, Braided River, Pacific Environment, and Mighty Earth released the following statement:
“We are disappointed that BP seems to have chosen to ignore the financial, environmental, and human rights risks of drilling in the Arctic Refuge, as well as overwhelming opposition from the American public and major investors.
“Our offer to meet with BP to discuss the importance of rejecting the Trump administration’s dangerous invitation to despoil this natural wonder still stands. We hope they and other oil majors will take seriously the damage that drilling in the Arctic Refuge would cause to this pristine landscape, the wildlife and communities that depend on it, and our climate, not to mention their own reputation and financial position.”
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with more than 3 million members and supporters. In addition to helping people from all backgrounds explore nature and our outdoor heritage, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.