A US judge has revoked 80 million acres of oil and gas leases in the Gulf of Mexico
The judge found companies under-estimated the impacts and risks of climate change.
It follows a lawsuit from Earth Justice, after a coalition of environmental groups sued the Biden administration to stop it.
Judge Rudolph Contreras ruled that the lease sale was invalid because the Department of Interior’s analysis did not fully take into account the climate impacts.
The Biden Administration had proceeded with the lease sale in November after a Trump-appointed judge blocked the administration’s temporary moratorium of new lease sales.
At the time, administration officials admitted the sale was at odds with its climate goals.
