Biden Intends to Cancel Licenses for Hydrocarbon Production in Alaska Issued Under Trump
The American president noted that these measures will help preserve Arctic lands and wildlife
US President Joe Biden intends to cancel permits issued by the previous US administration led by Donald Trump to lease federal lands in the state of Alaska for the development of oil and gas fields. This is stated in a statement released by the White House press service.
“With the climate crisis causing temperatures in the Arctic to rise twice as fast as in other parts of the world, we have a responsibility to protect this most valuable region for all time,” the document says. Biden said, “Canceling all remaining oil and gas leases in the Arctic Refuge that were established under the previous administration and protecting more than 13 million acres in the western Arctic will help preserve Arctic lands and wildlife.” Biden assured that his administration will “continue to take decisive steps” in light of climate change on the planet.
We are talking about “cancellation of the seven remaining permits,” the Ministry of Internal Affairs clarified. This department in the United States is not a security agency; it deals mainly with the use of federal lands and the extraction of natural resources, overseeing various programs related to indigenous people. In addition, the department said it would ban hydrocarbon production in large areas of northern Alaska.
Biden, during the campaign before the 2020 US presidential election, announced plans to completely stop issuing new licenses for the development of oil and gas fields on public lands and the sea shelf. After taking office, he imposed a moratorium on leasing federal lands for this purpose. Some state authorities have challenged this measure in court.
