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The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
World
Oliver Milman

US judge blocks sale of Gulf of Mexico drilling leases over climate concerns

Unused oil rigs sit in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010.
Unused oil rigs sit in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010. Photograph: Lee Celano/Reuters

A US federal judge has blocked a highly controversial sale of oil and gas drilling leases across 80m acres of the Gulf of Mexico, ruling that Joe Biden’s administration did not properly consider the leases’ impact upon the climate crisis.

The decision, handed down by the DC court late on Thursday, represents a landmark victory for environmental groups that had sued the government to prevent what was the largest ever auction of oil and gas leases in the gulf’s history.

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