The United States has banned oil drilling in a large portion of Alaska

Ultimately, the U.S. government limited fossil fuel development on a large chunk of federal lands in Alaska.Future oil and gas drilling will be in particular prohibited in over 5 million hectares of the Alaska National Petroleum Reserve, the largest expanse of public land in the nation.The measure is part of a broader Biden administration plan to protect sensitive ecosystems and wildlife.A move that is certainly also, and perhaps above all, political.The decision, with a nod to the key electorate of young people sensitive to ecological issues, comes not by chance as the engines of the presidential campaign heat up.In any case, good news for the Arctic.At the same time, the US Interior also announced that it will block the construction of a controversial road infrastructure, crucial for the operation of a copper and zinc mine in northern Alaska but of high impact on indigenous communities and wildlife habitats.Both decisions pose several political and legal risks for the Democratic administration.In particular, the new constraints on the National Petroleum Reserve are expected to lead to a series of appeals from fossil fuel producing companies.

The National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska, with its over 9 million hectares, is one of the federal areas of greater ecological value.For example, it provides a critical refuge for tens of thousands of migrating caribou, as well as polar bears, grizzlies, walruses and waterfowl.Lake Teshekpuk, in the eastern part of the reserve, is one of the most important places for waterfowl in the entire Arctic.The wetlands adjacent to it also serve as breeding areas for various types of coastal birds, including endangered species.The reserve, however, is also one of the most promising areas in terms of oil development onshore of the entire United States.It is no coincidence that, two weeks before leaving office, President Donald Trump had tried to open the reserve to leasing of oil and gas, claiming that this would make the US less dependent on foreign energy sources.Despite several hesitations, the Biden administration eventually reversed course.It all started with a bill published last year, with which the Department of the Interior asked to designate approximately 5 million hectares of the reserve as "special areas" in which to limit future oil and gas extraction.

The final rule approved in recent days is very similar to the initial proposal.And like this, for example, it will not affect existing leases in the reserve or even the controversial oil drilling project Willow, a ConocoPhillips fossil project approved last year despite harsh criticism from environmentalists.Worth $8 billion, the Willow Project will be of interest for decades an area of ​​930 thousand square kilometers in northern Alaska, leading to the extraction of 180 thousand barrels of oil per day from over 200 wells distributed across three drilling platforms.In this regard, environmental organizations and local Native American communities immediately argued that drilling will contribute to further deteriorating the already complicated conditions of the local ecosystem and will slow down the transition towards cleaner fuels.All of this, then, violating climate and ecological objectives that Biden had imposed during the election campaign.As little consolation, the decision to give the green light to the Willow project came shortly after the very first declaration of wanting to block drilling in the Reserve now definitively saved by the oil industry.

[by Simone Valeri]