Biden cancels oil and gas leases Trump issued in Alaskan Arctic

The Biden administration announced Wednesday that it will reverse Trump-era decisions on oil drilling in Alaska in a move intended to protect millions of acres of public land and waters.

Driving the news: The Department of the Interior canceled all existing oil and gas leases in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and proposed new regulations for the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska (NPR-A), a vast area of northern Alaska that is oil rich but ecologically vulnerable.

State of play: More than 13 million acres in the Western Arctic will be...