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

Federal judge rules that Biden administration did not properly consider the leases' impact upon the climate crisis

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.