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Seven remaining oil and gas leases in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge were canceled on Wednesday by the Biden administration’s Department of Interior. The move overturns sales from the Trump administration’s last days, and includes proposals for stronger protections against development of huge swaths of the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska, 23 million acres of public land in Alaska overseen by the Bureau of Land Management.
The area is the habitat to vast amounts of wildlife.
“Alaska is home to many of America’s most breathtaking natural wonders and culturally significant areas. As the climate crisis warms the Arctic more than twice as fast as the rest of the world, we have a responsibility to protect this treasured region for all ages,” Biden said in a statement.
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Alaska’s governor condemned Biden’s moves and threatened to sue.
Earlier this year the Biden administration approved a separate massive project by ConocoPhillips Alaska on the North Slope in the petroleum reserve called the Willow project.
“No one will have rights to drill for oil in one of the most sensitive landscapes on earth.” Interior Secretary Deb Haaland said Wednesday.
However, Alaska’s congressional delegation in 2017 succeeded in getting language added to a federal tax law which will require the U.S. government to hold two new lease sales in the region by late 2024. Administration officials said they intend to comply with the law.
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Copyright © 2023 CGTN. 京ICP备16065310号
Disinformation report hotline: 010-85061466