The Biden administration’s decision to cancel oil and gas leases in the Alaskan wilderness was just big enough to draw fire from the right — but not bold enough to win total praise from the left. On Wednesday, the White House revoked the seven remaining fossil fuel leases in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, which were originally issued by the Trump administration. President Joe Biden also announced new protections for over 10 million acres in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska. Republicans have pounced on the move to accuse Biden of making the country more dependent on foreign oil. Especially irate were Alaska’s two GOP senators. Sen. Dan Sullivan said he was “livid” and called the decision “sickening,” Emma Dumain and Heather Richards write today. And Sen. Lisa Murkowski — who authored a provision in Republicans’ 2017 tax law that requires two lease auctions in the region — described the move as “illegal” and “reckless.” The reaction from Democrats and environmentalists was positive, but more muted. While some cheered, many also expressed disappointment that Biden didn’t go further by, for example, canceling the massive Willow oil project he had approved in the region earlier this year. ConocoPhillips’ $8 billion project could produce more than 600 million barrels of crude over 30 years. That would release nearly 280 million metric tons of planet-warming pollution into the atmosphere over the life span of the project — equivalent to an additional 2 million cars or two coal-burning power plants every year. Raena Garcia with the green group Friends of the Earth called the administration’s announcement a “small measure” that won’t erase Biden’s “incredibly disappointing climate record with respect to oil and gas leasing.” “If the Administration is truly committed to protecting our people and the planet, they will halt climate-destroying projects like Willow altogether,” she said in a statement.
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