Biden reverses Trump-era oil drilling licences in Arctic

The Biden administration has reversed plans approved by Donald Trump to allow companies to drill for oil and gas in Alaska’s Arctic national wildlife refuge, a remote region that is home to polar bears, caribou – and 11bn barrels of oil.

The decision to suspend the oil drilling licences follows the temporary moratorium on oil and gas lease activities imposed by Joe Biden on his first day in office, and serves as a high-profile show of his climate credentials after approving hundreds of requests to drill on federal lands in recent weeks.

Biden used his 2020 presidential campaign to oppose drilling in the remote, 8m-hectare Alaskan refuge, which is considered sacred by the Indigenous Gwich’in communities and is also home to polar bears, caribou, snowy owls and migrating birds from six continents.