Responsible offshore resource development should be Obama’s environmental legacy

Throughout his two terms in office, President Obama – like his predecessors in the White House – has sought to establish a lasting legacy for the nation and future historians to look back upon favorably. His environmental legacy is of particular importance to the president. And with less than three months left before leaving the Oval Office, many are urging him to put a stamp on that legacy by eliminating Arctic leases in the Department of Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) proposed Oil and Gas Lease Program.

But a legacy isn’t built on closing things down or locking them up; the degree to which it stands the test of time is whether it demonstrates leadership, innovative and creative problem solving, and the ability to meet the needs of multiple interests. It is easy enough to put a fence or a wall up – between neighbors or nations, people and prosperity – but that’s not how Americans approach the future and it is not the way President Obama will want to be remembered.

{mosads}In fact, at a time when many Americans are likely unaware that such a decision is even being debated, the failure to retain the Arctic leases will have implications that will be felt directly by Alaskans, by the U.S. and around the Arctic and world.

Meeting the needs of Alaskans –through economic activity that provides the state with the opportunity to fund public safety, education, healthcare and critical infrastructure for its citizens – is such a legacy. Currently, Alaska’s economy is struggling – its unemployment rate of 6.8 percent is the highest rate in the nation. But by allowing offshore development of Alaska’s natural resources, over 55,000 jobs will be generated annually, supporting a payroll of $145 billion over the next 50 years. These economic benefits would bring Alaska out from under its economic slump, while also ensuring a stable future for many generations to come.

In fact, because of the benefits that Alaskans see from economic activity and state revenue from oil and gas development, over 82 percent of Alaska voters support continued offshore resource development. This public support includes residents of the region who rely on the industry for their livelihoods, giving them the ability to support their communities.

The public support gained in renaming a mountain only goes so far – working with the state to see that it has the resources necessary to respond to environmental concerns, strengthen communities and improve the lives and livelihoods of Alaskans is a tangible reflection of the leadership opportunity for this president in his final days of office. 

It would be easy enough to point to national security as another reason for America’s offshore development needs, and recent announcements from Russia about the start of operations at its northernmost land-based oil field located in the Gydan Peninsula does warrant careful attention. Alexei Miller, CEO of Gazprom, called Russia’s Arctic energy exploration “strategically important” and this project in particular “a key part of Russia’s powerful oil and gas complex in the circumpolar North.” Russia’s achievement of creating technology that can withstand harsh conditions is just one of many steps the Arctic nation has taken to ensure its role in the region. But, Russia’s advances also include expanding its oil spill response and search and rescue efforts, and putting in place the supportive infrastructure that these projects demand.

However the challenge to national sovereignty isn’t Russia’s development of its resources, or even the encroachment of outside interests in the region. The legacy that President Obama must leave is one that clearly defines the United States as competitive, competent and able to meet the challenges ahead. The Arctic is an emerging market to which other Arctic nations are turning their attention, and their extensive competitive advantages and capabilities. To this end the U.S. must compete with Norwegian, Icelandic, Finnish and Canadian companies for market share – in oil and gas development, in renewables, fisheries and maritime services, carbon intervention, tourism, and transportation. The U.S. has its moonshot, and the president an imperative, to get it right by being the best in the world at these things.

The BOEM’s leasing programs is one way the U.S. can remain a leader in the Arctic.  The United States has an opportunity to lead the way in safe and secure energy development in the Arctic, to raise the standard of living in Alaska, and to ensure the U.S. remains globally competitive, while simultaneously meeting the energy security needs of the nation.  That’s an environmental – and social, cultural, security and economic – legacy President Obama should embrace.

Nils Andreassen is the executive director of the Institute of the North.