Energy

Addressing climate change is one of the Biden administration's top priorities. NPR looks at President Biden's pledge to stop new oil and gas leasing on public lands and the challenges he might face.

Canadian officials say they're disappointed that President Biden revoked the Keystone XL Pipeline permit — but they're also looking forward to working with the new administration on climate change.

This likely means the end of the $8 billion pipeline, a years-long project that would have carried oil sands crude from Alberta, Canada, to the American Gulf Coast.

President Biden signed an executive order to have the country reenter the Paris Climate Agreement, less than four months after formally withdrawing.

In rich countries, every sector of the economy reduced its contribution to climate change last year — with one big gas-guzzling exception.

President Biden has set his sights on more than 100 Trump administration environmental rollbacks as well as plans to rejoin the international climate accord.

After a three-year push, the Trump administration has opened up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil leases. It's a scramble to lock in drilling before President-elect Joe Biden takes office.

The Trump administration is trying to force banks to make loans to gun-makers and to finance payday lenders. Critics call the move bizarre. It's opposed by watchdog groups and banks.

After a three-year push by the Trump administration, almost no oil companies offered bids. Analysts point to controversy, low oil prices and an incoming administration that opposes drilling.

The coronavirus-induced collapse in oil demand stole all the headlines. But oil companies faced a myriad of other woes, too, from hurricanes to itchy investors — and, of course, climate change.

There's little solid data on how much oil is under the refuge, and lawsuits and market forces could dampen industry interest. Any leases would also face opposition from a Biden administration.

Fifteen states are challenging the decision, arguing that the risk of explosion puts lives in danger. For one project, highly flammable gas will travel 200 miles through a busy East Coast corridor.