Something is moving in the United States on the fronts of climate and environmental protection. On 1 June, the administration led by President Joe Biden suspended permits previously granted by Donald Trump to extract oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (Anwr), a protected nature reserve located in north-east Alaska. All operations will therefore be temporarily halted, pending the government's assessment of the environmental impact of the drilling and an investigation into possible legal irregularities in the way the licences were granted.

The decision comes, however, after a series of far more controversial moves. On 26 May, Biden had defended a project aimed at extracting oil and natural gas in northern Alaska, and in early April he had opposed the possibility of shutting down an major pipeline running from North Dakota to Illinois. The succession of contradictory decisions has drawn considerable criticism from activists, particularly in light of the climate commitments made by Biden during his electoral campaign. Here is a closer look at the situation.

Drilling halt in Alaska's Arctic Wildlife Refuge

The announcement came on 1 June: Deb Haaland, the first Native American to lead the Department of the Interior, temporarily suspended the operational licences to drill an area of 1.5 million acres — equivalent to more than six thousand square kilometres — at Prudhoe Bay, in north-east Alaska. The area is part of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, an enormous nature reserve established in 1960 that covers nearly 80,000 square kilometres and is home to increasingly rare animal species, such as reindeer and polar bears.

It is precisely because of its pristine condition and fragility that the area had long been spared from drilling activities, but with the arrival of the Trump administration things changed. The former president initiated the process of selling oil extraction licences as early as 2017, the year he took office, but the preliminary research required to define the impact of extraction processes on the affected territory was only completed in August 2020, when the go-ahead for operations was approved. Activists, however, filed a lawsuit against the administration, arguing that the review of potential damage had been carried out in a hasty and insufficiently thorough manner.

In any case, the licences were purchased at a relatively low price by small companies and by a corporation controlled by the state of Alaska. The latter was the sole bidder for certain areas deemed unattractive, a factor that could give rise to legal complications.

Now, the new administration has temporarily suspended the validity of the licences until questions relating to the environmental impact of the extraction facilities and the actual validity of the contracts signed have been clarified.

The decision was applauded by environmental associations and organisations defending the indigenous peoples living in the area. Kristen Miller, executive director of the Alaska Wilderness League, said in a comment obtained by LifeGate: "President Biden's actions signal the beginning of a new era defined by strong, visionary leadership that fights climate change and prioritises environmental justice." At the same time, however, Miller criticised the previous decisions relating to the Willow Project.

Support for the Willow Project, in northern Alaska

On 26 May, just days before the announcement halting extraction in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, the US Department of Justice defended the decision, taken by the Trump administration in October 2020, to approve a massive oil extraction project in northern Alaska. The plan, known as the Willow Project, is managed by the multinational ConocoPhillips and could extract up to 100,000 barrels of oil per day over the next thirty years in an area of Alaska known as the National Petroleum Reserve. Local activists had filed a lawsuit against the project, but the US government has now confirmed that it complies with existing legislation.

Miller harshly criticised the position taken by the Biden administration, calling it "extremely disappointing" and stating that it "ignores the concerns of local indigenous communities" and fails to take into account the risks to the territory. Many other environmentally active organisations took the same line. "They are allowing the oil industry to cause irreparable harm to the health of the communities living in the Arctic region, and to the habitats that support local wildlife", Reuters news agency was told by Gregory Stewart, legal director for the Alaska chapter of the Sierra Club, one of the leading environmental organisations in the United States. John Noel, an activist for Greenpeace USA, described the decision as a "misstep".

By contrast, Lisa Murkowski, Republican senator for Alaska, welcomed the decision to press ahead with the work: "From the start, I have worked to help the new administration understand how important the Willow Project is to Alaska's economy, the communities of the North Slope [northern Alaska] and the thousands of workers in the region", she said in a press release. "The Department of Justice has reached the conclusion that we already knew."

Sen. Lisa Murkowski ✓ @lisamurkowski

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Great news for Alaska! The @TheJusticeDept has filed a brief defending the Willow project and @Interior has committed to supporting the project moving forward.

♥ 34💬 21 27 mag 2021 · Apri su X →

The pipeline in North Dakota

In early April, the White House under Joe Biden had also declined the opportunity to temporarily halt the operation of a major pipeline in North Dakota, likewise approved by the Trump administration and in operation since 2017, while a review is under way of its potential environmental risks, which will last at least until March 2022.

The infrastructure, called the Dakota Access Pipeline, runs for nearly two thousand kilometres from North Dakota to Illinois and over the years has been widely criticised by Sioux Native American communities, who claim it pollutes the Missouri River, a vital water source for them. It was the Sioux themselves who filed a lawsuit against the project, leading to the launch of the review currently under way.

And now?

The challenge posed by climate change grows more urgent with every passing day, and the United States, second only to China in the quantity of polluting emissions released each year, has every reason to set an example at the international level and encourage other countries to honour the objectives of the Paris Agreement.

President Biden has repeatedly stated that he considers environmental issues a priority for his administration, to the point of creating a new dedicated government role: the Presidential Special Envoy for Climate, a position held by John Kerry, a long-serving diplomat and Secretary of State during the Obama years.

According to many activists, the halt — albeit temporary — to oil extraction in the Alaska reserve is a step in the right direction, but in order to produce concrete and lasting consequences, more courage is needed.