The Democratic Party of Alaska is considering a call for an end to oil production in the state, according to a report from The Daily Wire.
Tim Hinterberger of the Alaska State Democratic Party’s Climate Caucus suggested removing a statement from an official platform that says, “We support responsible oil development performed in a manner that protects our fish, game, and wildlife resources.”
“At this advanced stage of climate disruption, no oil development is responsible,” Hinterberger wrote in a comment to the document suggestion.
According to Must Read Alaska, some sections relating to oil production were entirely eliminated from the platform.
Rick Whitbeck, Alaska State Director of Power the Future, a group that advocates for those working in the energy sector, told The Daily Wire that if Alaska ended oil drilling, the state would “quickly be bankrupt.”
In March 2023, the Biden administration approved an oil project on Alaska’s North Slope, despite facing criticism from environmentalists who argue it contradicts the president’s climate pledges.
At the time, the White House also announced that Biden would prevent or limit oil drilling on 16 million acres in Alaska and the Arctic Ocean. The plan would bar drilling in nearly three million acres of the Beaufort Sea, closing it off from oil exploration, and limit drilling in over 13 million acres in the National Petroleum Reserve.
