The Bureau of Land Management will finish the 2021 fiscal year having approved more onshore oil and gas drilling permits than under the Trump administration a year earlier—but has slashed monthly permitting amid what the industry says is a bureau pivot toward President Joe Biden’s climate agenda.
The drop was especially dramatic in August, according to bureau data released this week.
Industry leaders and analysts say the bureau appears to be forging ahead with its climate agenda ahead of COP26, the United Nations international climate conference in November in Scotland.
“At some point, the administration has to stop trying to ...