United States: The Biden administration has announced that the United States will cancel a number of oil and gas leases in a federal wildlife refuge previously issued under former President Mr. Donald Trump. In a press release, the Department of the Interior (DOI) authorised the cancellation of seven such leases in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in the state of Alaska.
The leases were issued to the state’s development agency during the Trump administration but have been suspended since June 2021 due to “legal deficiencies.” “With climate change warming the Arctic more than twice as fast as the rest of the planet, we must do everything within our control to meet the highest standards of care to protect this fragile ecosystem,” Interior Secretary Ms. Deb Haaland said in the press release.
The move comes as the latest effort by the Biden administration to shield more public lands from oil and gas development as well as combat climate change, which has contributed to climate crises around the world.
The DOI statement further remarked that it has proposed new regulations protecting more than 5.2 million hectares of land in the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska, the largest piece of undisturbed public land in the country, closing off about 40 percent of it to oil and gas development. The press release noted that many Indigenous communities continue to rely on the reserve for subsistence activities.
Alaska Senator Mr. Dan Sullivan, a Republican, slammed the decision by saying that it would set back the state’s economic development. “There is palpable anger and frustration among Alaskans about the Biden administration’s unrelenting assault on our economy and our ability to lawfully access our lands,” Mr. Sullivan commented.
The Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority (AIDEA), which originally purchased the leases, has yet to comment on the decision.
“Public lands are a public trust. They must be part of the climate solution, not the problem. The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is the nation’s largest wildlife refuge. It’s no place for oil and gas drilling and all the damage and danger it brings,” Mr. Manish Bapna, president and CEO of the Natural Resources Defence Council, noted in a statement.
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