2024-04-19 18:26:38
(Keystone-ATS) Joe Biden’s government announced on Friday the classification of a vast region in western Alaska as a protected area, in order to limit its use for oil or gas exploitation.
“I am proud to announce that my administration is acting to preserve more than 13 million acres (approximately 5.3 million hectares or the equivalent of the territory of Bosnia-Herzegovina editor’s note) in the western Arctic ”, declared the American president in a press release.
“My administration will continue to take ambitious action to address the urgency of the climate crisis, protect America’s lands and waters, and fulfill our responsibility to the next generation of Americans,” added Joe Biden.
The area in question is part of what is called the National Petroleum Reserve in northwest Alaska. The measure makes it possible to prohibit the future allocation of new operating leases on millions of hectares.
This region is home to polar and grizzly bears, caribou, and hundreds of thousands of migratory birds, said the Department of the Interior, responsible for federal lands in the United States. Local populations hunt or fish these resources for their subsistence.
Balance between protection and development
Last year, the Biden government approved a large oil project in Alaska, the Willow project of the American giant ConocoPhillips, triggering the anger of environmental defenders in the United States.
Since the Democratic president came to power, the government “has maintained its commitment to restoring an appropriate balance between protection and development,” Interior Minister Deb Haaland said in a statement on Friday.
The measure, which comes a few days before Earth Day and in the middle of an election year, might help President Joe Biden highlight his record in terms of climate measures, particularly among young people.
The announcement this time was immediately applauded by environmental organizations.
“We welcome this necessary progress,” responded Mattea Mrkusic, of the Evergreen organization, in a press release, recalling that the Arctic is warming four times faster than the rest of the planet.
“We applaud this step and call for even bolder action to keep the fossil fuel industry out of the Arctic, for the sake of the climate and future generations,” said Jeremy Lieb, attorney for the Earthjustice organization.
The Biden government also announced on Friday that it wanted to block the construction of a road in Alaska that would lead to new mines.
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