That’s behind the “Willow Project” – and why many people are mad at Joe Biden

If you’ve been on social media platforms like TikTok or Instagram lately, then you’ve probably come across the term “Willow Project”. You may have already watched a video about the project or read an info post about it. But maybe you haven’t heard of it yet. Either way, the buzz around the project is huge. An overview:

What is the Willow Project?

Joe Biden’s campaign promise for 2020 was clear: no new oil and gas exploration on state land. That promise is now broken. On March 13, 2023, the government waved goodbye to the controversial Willow Project. The project in a nutshell: plans to drill for oil in Alaska.

About 600 million barrels – ie about 95 billion liters – of oil will be produced in the next 30 years. The project of the energy company ConocoPhillips is worth 8 billion dollars. According to media reports, 280 million tons of carbon dioxide will be released over the next 30 years when the oil from the Willow Project is burned. For comparison, that’s roughly the amount of emissions from two million combustion engine cars over the same period.

It would be years before oil from the Willow Project hit the market.

In addition to the habitats the project will destroy and the alleged problems for the climate that CO₂ emissions could cause, social media users are particularly concerned about one question: Why did US President Joe Biden break his promise?

The biggest problem: the energy company ConocoPhillips has had valid leases since 2020 – so since the tenure of Donald Trump – and therefore a legal right to drill in the region. Terminating these contracts would result in a lawsuit, which could lead to heavy fines for the government.

However, compromises were also made for the concrete plans that have now been waved through. Originally, the ConocoPhillips proposal included about five drilling sites. Now there are three more. In addition, the Washington government has restricted oil and gas drilling in the Arctic Ocean since the leases were awarded. Protection zones of 5.26 million hectares are also planned in the Alaska National Petroleum Reserve (NPRA). According to the Ministry of the Interior, the reduced scope helps to reduce the impact on nature.

Create new jobs

According to the AP news agency, many Alaskans supported the project. They hope for new jobs and an economic boom in the region. Nationally, the story goes that this reduces dependence on foreign oil.

The mayors of two communities in northern Alaska wrote in a debate article in the “Anchorage Daily News” that the voices of people whose homes had been hit the hardest were largely ignored.

The protests on social media

The Willow Project has been trending on TikTok and Instagram for days under the hashtag #StopWillow. The videos are clicked millions of times. An online petition calling for the project to be stopped has now garnered nearly 4.7 million supporters.

“Online campaigns devoted to climate change are nothing new,” said Dana R. Fisher, a sociology professor at the University of Maryland who studies the protest movement.

But the stakes are very different with the Willow Project. The outrage is much greater, she adds to the Washington Post.

At the same time, Fisher raises the question of whether movements on social media have long-term effects at all. Because “the question is to what extent this form of mobilization is permanent. “Real political engagement” means more than just clicking something or posting a video,” she says.

Whether the societal pressure is strong enough for the government and the oil company to change their plans remains to be seen. Fisher, however, is optimistic: The White House is likely watching the online protests. In addition, the Biden administration is aware that “young people are very influential”.