JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — The Biden administration said Friday it will restrict new oil and gas leasing on 13 million acres (5.3 million hectares) of a federal petroleum reserve in Alaska to help protect wildlife such as caribou and polar bears as the Arctic continues to warm.
The decision — part of a yearslong fight over whether and how to develop the vast oil resources in the state — finalizes protections first proposed last year as the Democratic administration prepared to approve the contentious Willow oil project.
The approval of Willow drew fury from environmentalists, who said the large oil project violated President Joe Biden’s pledge to combat climate change. Friday’s decision also completes an earlier plan that called for closing nearly half the reserve to oil and gas leasing.
A group of Republican lawmakers, led by Alaska U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan, jumped out ahead of Friday’s announcement about drilling limitations in the National Petroleum-Reserve Alaska before it was publicly announced. Sullivan called it an “illegal” attack on the state’s economic lifeblood, and he predicted lawsuits.
Standing in the shadows of giants: 1,475 statues fill the landscape beside D
Chinese publications draw attention at Frankfurt Book Fair
Chinese dancer pursues dream on wheels
Xi Arrives in San Francisco for Talks with Biden, APEC Meeting
Cycling star Evenepoel targets June return from crash ahead of Tour de France and Paris Olympics
Xi Calls for Unity to Achieve Better Asia
Village in China's Henan transformed by cultural industries
China Fashion Week S/S 2023 kicks off in Beijing
Taylor Swift leaves QR codes with secret meanings in Sydney and Melbourne ahead of the much
China's central bank to cut RRR by 0.5 percentage points
5,000 flee military raids on villages in Myanmar’s Sagaing region — Radio Free Asia
China contributes over 50% growth to global renewable energy capacity in 2023