Washington, D.C. – Today, in response to the release of the Interior Department’s Proposed Program for offshore drilling, the League of Conservation Voters (LCV) released the following statement from Conservation Program Director Alex Taurel:

“We are counting on President Biden to seize the historic opportunity to lead the way to an equitable and just clean energy future by finalizing an offshore drilling plan that includes no lease sales. Offshore drilling is a dangerous practice and poses huge risks to the health of communities, workers, wildlife, and the climate. Families in need of relief from high gas prices are being lied to by oil and gas companies – the reality is that new offshore drilling leases take years before they produce any oil, so they do nothing to bring down the price of gas at the pump today. But new offshore drilling leases can lock us into long-term fossil fuel infrastructure for decades to come at a time when our transition to a clean energy future could not be more crucial. We will continue to fight to ensure there is no new leasing in the final Five Year Plan in line with what science and justice require.”

###