"A federal court ruling canceling 80 million acres of oil and gas leases in the Gulf of Mexico is likely to force the Interior Department to ensure it looks twice at oil drilling’s effect on global climate change, lawyers say.
Judge Rudolph Contreras of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on Thursday vacated a November Gulf of Mexico lease sale because Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management acted arbitrarily in its environmental review of the lease sale required under the National Environmental Policy Act.
The agency failed to account for the climate effects of overseas burning of fossil fuels from the leases, he said.
Contreras’ ruling broadens the agency’s obligation to assess the climate impacts of oil and gas production, reinforcing the Biden administration’s climate policies, said Ann Navaro, a partner at Bracewell LLP in Washington."
Bobby Magill reports for Bloomberg Environment January 28, 2022.
SEE ALSO:
"Judges Increasingly Demand Climate Analysis in Drilling Decisions" (New York Times)
"Court Ruling Gives Biden Chance For Reset On Climate Policy" (AP)
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