Biden to suspend Trump-era oil drilling leases in Arctic refuge

United States President Joe Biden’s January 20 executive order stated a new environmental review was needed to address possible legal flaws in a drilling programme approved by the Trump administration.

The administration of United States President Joe Biden is suspending oil and gas leases in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge as it reviews environmental impacts of drilling in the remote region that has been the focus of a political fight for decades, according to two people who have been briefed on the administration’s plan. The US Department of the Interior’s order was set to be announced later Tuesday. It follows a temporary moratorium on oil and gas lease activities imposed by Biden on his first day in office. Biden’s January 20 executive order suggested a new environmental review was needed to address possible legal flaws in a drilling programme approved by the administration of former President Donald Trump under a 2017 law approved by Congress. The people briefed on the plan requested anonymity because the plan had not been officially released.