Environmentalists condemn budget deal that lifts US oil export ban

Republicans in Congress argue that the restriction has been rendered obsolete, but members of Oil Change International call it 'a disaster for the climate'

Environmentalists have condemned a budget deal in Congress to lift a 40-year ban on US crude oil exports as "a disaster for the climate".

Republicans have trumpeted the move as a major victory that will create 1m jobs and add $170bn to annual GDP. They argue that the restriction, imposed in 1975 during chronic oil shortages, has been rendered obsolete by burgeoning US supplies enabled by new drilling methods.