Joe Biden suspends Trump-era oil and gas drilling in Arctic national wildlife refuge

Joe Biden has suspended the Trump administration's oil drilling in a national wildlife refuge in Alaska.

CNN reports that former President Trump had auctioned off the right to drill in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for oil and gas for $14.4 million during his last days in office.

This move concerned environmentalists, with many fearing that a number of important species, such as caribou, polar bears, and waterfowl, would have their habitat threatened by human interference through industrialism.

Take a look at this news report on Biden's executive order in the video below:

However, on Tuesday, June 1, a senior White House official confirmed that the incumbent POTUS has now reversed Trump's decision after making an executive order earlier this year.

Politico reports that in addition to extending its moratorium on oil and gas drilling in the area, Biden's executive order makes it possible that the Interior Department will undertake a new environmental review to address potential legal flaws in the program and assess the damage already done to the refuge.

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The 1.6 million-acre stretch of tundra on Alaska’s North Slope was opened to oil and gas development in 2017 as part of Trump's Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.

Drafted by Senator Lisa Murkowski, the act was the culmination of decades of lobbying by the oil industry to drill for fossil fuels in the region.

Biden's executive order had been praised by a number of groups, including the Native American Gwich'in Nation. For example, in a statement made to The Washington Post, a spokesperson for the tribe commented:

"The Gwich'in Nation is grateful and heartened by the news that the Biden administration has acted again on its commitment to protecting sacred lands and the Gwich’in way of life."

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What's more, acting executive director of the Alaska Wilderness League Kristen Miller told the above publication: "Suspending these leases is a step in the right direction.

"We commend the Biden administration for committing to a new program analysis that prioritizes sound science and adequate tribal consultation."

On the other hand, other pundits have criticized Biden's order as an empty gesture.

Energy analyst Pavel Molchanov told The Post. "Trump’s desire to push through this lease sale in January was essentially an empty, meaningless, political gesture. And Biden’s decision is in its own way equally symbolic: there is simply no appetite in the industry to drill there."

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