Biden limits oil in Alaska after controversial project – 9/6/2023 – Environment

Joe Biden’s government announced this Wednesday (6) a ban on new oil and gas exploration in a vast region of northern Alaska where indigenous communities and iconic animal species live, five months after approving an oil project in the same area. region.

The new measure covers 4 million hectares, an area comparable to that of Denmark, in the Alaska National Petroleum Reserve (NPR-A), a vital space for bears, reindeer and migratory birds.

“Alaska is home to some of America’s most incredible wonders and culturally significant areas,” Biden said.

The Department of the Interior, which is responsible for federal lands, added that it had revoked seven exploration permits granted during the Trump administration in another protected area in northern Alaska, the Arctic Wildlife Refuge.

The decision comes after controversial government approval earlier this year of a project by oil giant ConocoPhillips in the same region. The so-called Willow Project was authorized by the Trump administration and endorsed by Biden.

Some see in this Wednesday’s announcement an attempt by the government to recover from the criticism received after the approval of the ConocoPhilipps project, reduced to three drilling zones, instead of the five requested by the company, and with CO emission levels_two which alarmed environmentalists.

The plan announced on Wednesday also prohibits drilling in more than 1 million hectares of the Beaufort Sea, located north of Alaska’s northern coast.

Biden promised in his presidential campaign that he would freeze oil exploration licenses, a promise he has not kept.

NPR-A was created by President Warren Harding in 1923 and constitutes the largest public land region in the United States.