The Biden permanently prohibits declared on Sunday night that it will never again allow fossil fuel drilling on 16 million acres of federal land and water in Alaska.
The National Petroleum Reserve (NPR), a region in North Slope Borough, Alaska, designated aside by Congress for resource development, contains 13 million acres of land. The Department of Interior (DOI) announced that it had started a regulation process to “ensure maximum protection” for this area. Also, President Biden permanently prohibits directed the withdrawal of oil and gas leasing rights for an additional 2.8 million acres in the Beaufort Sea, which is located in the Arctic Ocean off the northern coast of Alaska.
The DOI issued a statement saying, “With these actions, Biden permanently prohibits continues to deliver on the most aggressive climate agenda in American history. “He has turned the country into a hub for jobs and the production of sustainable energy. In order to promote environmental justice and climate resilience, he secured record investments.”
The statement continued, “And his economic programme has put the United States back on course to fulfil its climate objectives for 2030 and 2050, all while reducing America’s dependence on oil and safeguarding American families from the effects of Putin’s war on global energy markets.
As a result of the announcement, no fossil fuel development will be allowed in the federal government’s whole portion of the Arctic Ocean for the foreseeable future. But, since 2007 there haven’t been any offshore lease sales in the area, and the administration has already said that there won’t be any more until at least 2028.
Also, according to the DOI, Biden permanently prohibits plans to restrict the extraction of fossil fuels in “unique places” such Teshekpuk Lake, Utukok Uplands, Colville River, Kasegaluk Lagoon, and Peard Bay that are noted for having abundant wildlife. Additionally, Biden’s broad actions stop the construction of specific pipeline infrastructure for fossil fuels in the northern Alaska region.
A former senior Bureau of Land Management official told Fox News Digital in an interview on Sunday night that the decision was “completely political” and wasn’t based on science, climate change, or biological resources.
They are ignoring science in favour of appealing to political interests only.
The DOI announcement, on the other hand, appears to be an effort by the government to lessen the blow to climate activists before a decision on a significant 30-year oil drilling project in the NPR is anticipated.
A congressional aide with knowledge of the matter told Fox News Digital that the Biden administration is anticipated to announce Monday that it is approving three of the five drilling sites for the Willow Project, an oil project proposed years ago by energy major ConocoPhillips.
