The WWF and conservationists around the world are celebrating President Obama’s decision to postpone new exploratory drilling off the coast of Alaska due to commence as soon as July 1 until at least 2011.

President responds to appeals

The welcome decision comes following appeals from WWF to the US president to put a hold on all new off shore drilling until a full investigation into the regulatory failures that allowed the BP Gulf of Mexico disaster to occur is launched, and safeguards are put in place to ensure further drilling will take place safely in the future.

“This is an important victory for the fragile Arctic ecosystem, for the communities of Alaska’s North Slope, and for sound science,” said Carter Roberts, President and CEO of WWF. It is clear that the Minerals Management Service is a broken agency, one that has been guided not by science, but by a culture that has often put leasing revenues ahead of thorough environmental and safety review. As the events of the past month have demonstrated, we do not have the technology or capacity to adequately respond to a massive spill—in the gulf or anywhere. Halting all new off-shore drilling until our failed regulatory system is reformed and the American people are assured that drilling can be done safely is absolutely the right decision.”

New Plans have WWF backing

Evidence has recently come to light in the press and Interior Department inquiries exposing incidences of corruption and serious conflicts of interest within the Minerals Management Service (MMS), the federal agency responsible for overseeing the management of offshore drilling. Ken Salazar, Interior Secretary, has announced plans to completely overhaul MMS as a result of these findings, and divide the existing service into three separate agencies. An independent panel has also been commissioned by the president to investigate the Gulf disaster and associated regulatory failures that will be co-shared by former WWF Chairman Emeritus William Reilly. Both decisions were strongly advocated by the WWF.

The WWF insist that the spill in the Gulf is just further evidence of America’s over reliance on fossil fuels, an obsession that risks both US economic and environmental security. Carter Roberts has urged the president to put all the energy of the White house into efforts to pass climate legislation through the Senate this year.

“The administration’s previously announced moves to overhaul MMS and commission an independent panel to investigate the BP spill are steps in the right direction. However, what is still missing is a solution to the underlying cause of the BP disaster — our addiction to dirty, dangerous oil. It has never been more urgent to break oil’s stranglehold on our economy and our environment. The catastrophe in the gulf should provide all the impetus needed for the President and Congress to finally pass a comprehensive climate and clean energy bill this year,” said Roberts.

Following the Memorial Day recess Senate Leader Harry Reid plans to meet with committee chairmen and the full Democratic caucus, it is the outcome of this meeting that will likely decide whether Senate moves on climate and energy legislation this year.