Interior Climate Review Threatens Advance of Oil, Gas Leases

The Interior Department plans to consider drilling’s effect on the climate when making oil and gas leasing decisions, possibly allowing officials to scuttle fossil fuel projects while still complying with court orders.

Interior’s disclosure came in a Tuesday filing in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana designed to show it’s complying with Judge Terry Doughty’s preliminary injunction in Louisiana v. Biden. The agency had appealed the injunction on Aug. 16 in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.

The department wants to ensure it’s fully complying with the National Environmental Policy Act “by appropriately ...