House Democrats press Wall Street on ANWR drilling

A group of House Democrats is calling on major U.S. banks not to finance oil and gas exploration in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, an ecologically sensitive region that the Trump administration plans to offer up to drilling.

Thirty-three lawmakers, led by California Rep. Jared Huffman, said in separate letters to JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Citigroup, Bank of America and Morgan Stanley that they are "gravely concerned about the climate, financial, and reputational risks" from drilling in ANWR.

The Democrats pushed the banks to follow Goldman Sachs' new policy announced last December to forego investments in ANWR oil and gas exploration, in part due to climate and social concerns. Senate Democrats sent a similar letter to banks earlier this month.

The Democrats said fossil fuel development in the refuge would disrupt dozens of vulnerable species and native tribes that practice a subsistence lifestyle. Congress approved the opening of the refuge to exploration in a 2017 law, delivering a long-sought political win to Republicans and industry. The Trump administration has not yet held a lease sale for ANWR.

"The 19 million-acre Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is one of the wildest places left on the planet," the Democrats wrote. "Roads, pipelines, gravel mines, airstrips, and other facilities that would be developed to support exploration and development on the coastal plain would fragment habitat, displace wildlife, and undermine the wilderness character of the Refuge."

Signatories include Natural Resources Chairman Raúl Grijalva of Arizona, Transportation and Infrastructure Chairman Peter DeFazio and Suzanne Bonamici of Oregon, Rules Chairman Jim McGovern, Ayanna Pressley and Joe Kennedy of Massachusetts, Pramila Jayapal of Washington, Mark Pocan of Wisconsin and Ro Khanna of California, among others.

By:  Zack Colman
Source: Politico Pro

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