In El Paso, Texas, young people can stop oil drilling

In May the city of El Paso votes on its climate charter.And with it the end of drilling in the largest fossil basin in the United States.

• The El Paso climate charter campaign launched a petition in July 2022 and collected over 40 thousand signatures, more than half from citizens under 35.
• In May we will vote:If adopted, El Paso's climate charter will ban the use of fresh water in oil extraction projects outside the city limits.
• A bad blow for the Permian basin, where 40 percent of US oil is extracted.

We could define it as a "green" revolution in the "black" heart of the United States.In fact, the citizens of El Paso, a city in Texas with 678 thousand inhabitants, they will have the opportunity Of vote this spring a package of climate measures adopted by the municipality.A “climate charter”, that is, one climate paper, one of a kind:if the proposal is approved, the city of El Paso would effectively halt drilling in the Permian Basin, which accounts for about 40 percent of all U.S. oil production.

El Paso aims for 80% renewable energy by 2030

The one in El Paso could become one of the most progressive (in an environmental sense) laws in the country, in a state loyal to the Republicans and very close to the interests of fossil companies.Furthermore, in the climate charter there is an ambitious objective: 80 percent of the state's energy must be carbon neutral by 2030. 

To achieve this ambitious goal, the charter encourages the installation of photovoltaic panels on the roofs, the establishment of a climate department and the transfer of ownership of the electricity supplier (El Paso Electric, which ended up in a JP Morgan fund in 2020) into the hands of citizens.

Saving water from Permian oil

To break down the dominance of fossil fuels, the climate map intervenes on a specific point:if adopted, would prohibit the exploitation of water resources outside the city for oil-related extraction projects. By doing so, thanks to the card, the citizens of El Paso will be able to preserve water within their community and for domestic uses:a fact that is not secondary, since it is a rather desert territory and where water is becoming an even more scarce commodity due to drought.

Fossil fuel extraction activities in the Permian Basin have been defined as one carbon bomb by environmentalists, as it releases enormous quantities of methane which in addition to heating the Earth's atmosphere causing global warming, pollutes the groundwater and wells used by the citizens of the Texan desert.

In 2019, from here approximately 273 billion liters of fresh water they left to go and feed the fracking on the Texas side of the Permian Basin.An increase of 2,400 percent compared to 2010, according to data from the US geological survey.A practice destined to leave El Paso without drinking water.

A paper criticized by companies in the sector

Of course, there is no shortage of detractors.The El Paso Chamber of Commerce, which represents business interests, opposed the climate charter, saying that the proposal, while fair for its purposes, risks "costing dearly" to businesses local and regional economies.

Joe Biden's government also sends mixed signals:instead of sticking to climate goals and listening to the people of Nuisqut (as well as the millions of young people who demonstrated around the world and who supported his policies in the United States), the current US president he just approved the Willow project in Alaska, the largest extraction project federal government linked to fossil fuels.

However the vote goes, the “El Paso climate charter” campaign has shown that climate struggles are at the top of the list for thousands of people.The campaign was launched in July 2022 and quickly collected 40 thousand signatures, more than half from young people under 35.The message has been sent, now we will see how the citizens will express themselves in the votes on May 6th.