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Press Release

Oil Change International Statement and Materials Regarding Presidential Alaska Visit

President Obama and Secretary Kerry should recognize that every devastating impact of climate change they encounter in the Arctic will only be the tip of the iceberg if Big Oil is allowed to continue their high risk Arctic projects. Approving Royal Dutch Shell’s drilling permits one week and going to the Arctic to show your commitment to climate action the next is dissonance at best and downright hypocrisy at worst.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 30, 2015

Contact:
David Turnbull, david [at] priceofoil [dot] org
Hannah McKinnon, hannah [at] priceofoil [dot] org

Arctic Drilling and Climate Action Don’t Mix:
Oil Change International Statement and Materials Regarding Presidential Alaska Visit 

President Obama and Secretary Kerry are arriving in Anchorage Monday because, according to a White House video from the President, “Alaskans are on the front lines of one of the greatest challenges we face this century – climate change.”

Hannah McKinnon, Senior Campaigner with Oil Change International, has released the following statement as their trip commences:

“President Obama and Secretary Kerry should recognize that every devastating impact of climate change they encounter in the Arctic will only be the tip of the iceberg if Big Oil is allowed to continue their high risk Arctic projects. Approving Royal Dutch Shell’s drilling permits one week and going to the Arctic to show your commitment to climate action the next is dissonance at best and downright hypocrisy at worst. Hopefully the President and Secretary Kerry will listen closely to the real and powerful stories of Alaskans on the front lines of dramatic global warming and come to terms with the fact that Arctic drilling is a climate disaster.” 

 

Oil Change International has recently published several pieces of analysis relevant to the President and Secretary’s visit to Alaska, as follows:

  • Analysis showing that the oil demand forecast used by the Obama Administration to justify approval of drilling in the Arctic and offshore elsewhere predicts climate catastrophe:
    http://oilchange.org/2015/08/27/the-eias-oil-forecast-is-a-climate-disaster-why-does-obama-use-it-to-justify-drilling/

  • Report recently published by Oil Change International and Greenpeace USA detailing how Arctic oil must be considered “unburnable” in any scenario of sufficient climate action:
    http://oilchange.org/2015/08/13/untouchable-the-climate-case-against-arctic-drilling/

  • Analysis showing how a tax in Alaska has turned into a corporate windfall with falling oil and gas prices:
    http://oilchange.org/2015/08/28/alaska-oil-and-gas-production-tax-is-now-a-corporate-handout/

  • Blog post on the disconnect between the Arctic trip and Obama Administration’s policies towards fossil fuel extraction:
    http://oilchange.org/2015/08/30/mixed-messages-president-obamas-climate-trip/

     

    Oil Change International staff are available for further comment. Contact: David Turnbull, david[at] priceofoil [dot] org

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