Recent Projects

The Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) activity plan for the Alaska National Petroleum Reserve could lead to as much as 76.86 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions in a given year during peak production. We submitted joint comments urging BLM to monetize and contextualize the climate impacts of its plan using social cost of carbon metrics.

The Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) Farmington Field Office in New Mexico released an addendum to its environmental assessment for eighty-six drilling applications. The addendum estimates that the projects, in total, would result in more than 483 million metric tons of carbon dioxide-equivalent over the lifetimes of the assessments. BLM’s analysis, however, fails to consider the climate impacts of these emissions, which would amount to more than $25 billion. Our comments ask that BLM provide monetized estimates of these real-world climate impacts using social cost of greenhouse gases metrics.

The Bureau of Land Management failed to consider the climate impacts of oil and gas leasing activity in Colorado that would produce 317 million tons of carbon dioxide-equivalent over a 30-year period in upstream and downstream emissions. We submitted comments urging the agency to apply the social cost of greenhouse gases in its environmental assessment. 

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) released its environmental impact analysis of the Willow Master Development Plan, estimating the project will produce more than 260 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions. We submitted joint comments asking BLM to monetize the real-world climate effects of those emissions using the social cost of greenhouse gases.

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) released its environmental assessment of a February 2020 lease sale in the Carlsbad Field Office region of New Mexico. We submitted joint comments asking BLM to monetize the real-world climate impacts of projected emissions using the social cost of greenhouse gases.

The Bureau of Land Management released its updated environmental assessment for May 2015 and February 2016 lease sales in Utah, in response to a court remand in WildEarth Guardians v. Zinke. We submitted comments asking BLM to monetize the real-world climate impacts of the lease sales using the social cost of greenhouse gases.

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) released its draft resource management plan for the Eastern Colorado planning area, projecting millions of tons of greenhouse gas emissions per year from oil and gas development, coal production, and downstream emissions. We submitted joint comments focusing on BLM’s failure to monetize climate damages and properly analyze energy substitution effects.

Following a ruling by the District of Montana, the Bureau of Land Management continued to decline to use the social cost of greenhouse gases in its anlysis of Buffalo and Miles City resource management plants. We submitted joint comments arguing that the agency should monetize the social cost of greenhouse gases on remand.

The Bureau of Land Management's assessment of the Vernon Well Pad project, which would establish 32 new oil wells in Utah, fails to estimate resulting greenhouse gas emissions or monetize climate impacts. We submitted joint comments arguing that BLM to monetize the project's climate impacts using the social cost of greenhouse gases.

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) released its environmental impact statement for the Moneta Divide Natural Gas and Oil Development Project, which would significantly expand well drilling in Wyoming. The project would be responsible for billions of tons of greenhouse gas emissions over its lifetime. We submitted comments explaining why BLM should use the social cost of greenhouse gases to monetize and weigh the plan’s climate impacts.