Climate activists shut down WH clean energy czar John Podesta's speech to 'room full of millionaires'

'I appreciate their passion,' Podesta said of the protesters before being shouted down

A group of climate activists shut down an event Tuesday where senior White House adviser John Podesta delivered remarks about the implementation of the Inflation Reduction Act.

The activists, who are with the group Climate Defiance, entered a hotel ballroom in Washington, D.C., where Podesta was speaking with Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) President Manish Bapna while chanting anti-fossil fuel slogans, according to video posted by the group. The activists then assembled near the front of the room and unfurled a banner that stated "End Fossil Fuels."

"No more drilling! Keep your promise!" the protesters shouted as they entered.

"Everyone's future is undone, you guys," one of the activists said. "We never needed fossil fuels. You all need to stop supporting it. You all are going to be complicit to the destruction of Mother Earth and everyone's future."

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Activists interrupt a talk given by White House senior adviser John Podesta on Tuesday. (Climate Defiance/Twitter)

"What does it mean if Biden is saying ‘no new drilling on federal lands,’ and we get an expansion of projects 30 years into the future?" another activist added.

The comments appeared to be in reference to President Biden's recent approval of the Willow Project, a massive 30-year oil drilling project located in northern Alaska. The project's developer projected it would produce up to 180,000 barrels of oil per day over the next three decades.

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The Willow Project approval was announced by the Department of the Interior in March, but the decision was ultimately made by Biden and White House officials including Podesta. The decision sparked an internal dispute between officials with some seeking to tank the project from within.

"I appreciate their passion and we're trying to create a transition that gets to net-zero by 2050. Their point of view —" Podesta stated before being interrupted again by the protesters.

"Too late! That is too late! Thirty years!" they yelled.

Climate Defiance later tweeted a video of the protest, claiming they shut down Podesta's "keynote speech."

"Addressing a room full of millionaires in a 5-star hotel, Podesta said we can only get to net-zero by 2050," the group tweeted. "So we sang him off the stage."

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John Podesta attends a Cabinet Meeting at the White House on Sept. 6. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

Meanwhile, the NRDC, the group that appeared to host the event Tuesday, is among several groups that filed a lawsuit against the Biden administration last month, challenging its approval of the Willow Project. An official for the group said at the time that the administration was "green-lighting a carbon bomb."

And Podesta has made fighting climate change a top priority since assuming his position at the White House and before in his role leading the left-wing Center for American Progress.

Biden appointed Podesta to lead the White House Office of Clean Energy Innovation and Implementation, a role that includes overseeing billions of dollars in Inflation Reduction Act spending.