CALGARY—The federal government announced Tuesday plans to ban offshore oil and gas licensing in the Arctic, citing the need to protect the environment from future energy development, but the move was largely dismissed by industry observers as a weak gesture that won’t harm their interests.

The measure was part of a joint announcement with the U.S., which designated the bulk of its federally controlled waters in the Arctic Ocean and certain areas in the Atlantic Ocean as indefinitely off-limits to future oil and gas leasing.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Canada’s ban is intended to ensure a sustainable Arctic economy, preserve the region’s ecosystem and prevent future risks associated with offshore oil and gas activity — goals that earned applause from environmental groups such as Greenpeace and the World Wildlife Fund.

But experts pointed out that there are no drilling plans in the region now, suggesting that the ban is of little consequence.

Michael Byers, a University of British Columbia professor who recently published a book called “Who Owns the Arctic?”, said the only surprise in Ottawa’s announcement is that it provides for a five-year review.

Byers said the move seems to be politically motivated and is designed to show that Trudeau is protecting the environment despite a recent decision to sanction two oil pipelines — the Trans Mountain expansion and Line 3 replacement project.

“Closing the door to Arctic oil and gas helps to position himself on the climate change file by saying that there are limits in terms of the development of new oil and gas fields, therefore drawing a line in the sand from a climate change perspective,” he said.

“There’s no activity taking place in the Canadian Arctic right now, so saying ‘No’ doesn’t require anyone to stop.”

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Last year, Imperial Oil applied to extend the expiry date on its licences to drill in the Beaufort Sea off the Northwest Territories from 2020 to 2028, citing insufficient time to conduct technical work and complete regulatory processes.

Byers said the federal ban means the Imperial licences can simply be allowed to expire, likely without liability for the federal government.

Imperial Oil spokeswoman Killeen Kelly said the company would not speculate on whether it would seek compensation for its licences if they aren’t extended.

President Barack Obama on Tuesday designated the bulk of U.S.-owned waters in the Arctic Ocean and certain areas in the Atlantic Ocean as indefinitely off limits to future oil and gas leasing.

The move helps put some finishing touches on Obama's environmental legacy while also testing President-elect Donald Trump's promise to unleash the nation's untapped energy reserves.

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Environmental groups hope the ban, despite relying on executive powers, will be difficult for future presidents to reverse. The White House said it's confident the president's order will withstand legal challenge and said the language of the statute provides no authority for subsequent presidents to undo permanent withdrawals.

The last Canadian oil well drilled in the Beaufort Sea off the Northwest Territories was completed in 2006 by Devon Canada.

Chris Seasons, who was president of the company at the time, said Tuesday’s decision to close the Arctic to drilling may hurt companies with interests there in the long run, but won’t cause any immediate pain.

“People always like to have the maximum number of options available as technology changes and as views change on the commerciality of some of those resources, but I don’t think it has a big impact on Canadian companies at this juncture,” he said.

“There’s definitely hydrocarbons there. We found about a 200-million-barrel oil pool, but it wasn’t of sufficient scale to be commercial.”

Byers said oil and gas production in the Arctic doesn’t make sense economically or environmentally, estimating that benchmark U.S. oil prices would have to triple to above $150 ($200 Canadian) per barrel to make oil from the region profitable.

He said the extremely short drilling season represents a huge and costly risk for companies that explore there, adding that transportation is a “nightmare.”

Trudeau said Tuesday the ban is intended to ensure a sustainable Arctic economy, protect the region’s ecosystem and prevent future risks associated with offshore oil and gas activity.

He said his government will also encourage the use of energy efficiency measures and renewable power in an effort to reduce reliance on diesel in Northern communities.

In statements, both Greenpeace and the World Wildlife Fund welcomed the Arctic drilling bans, saying they will help protect endangered species and ecosystems.

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Paul Barnes, Arctic manager for the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, said in an email the industry remains confident that it can develop offshore oil and gas resources in the Arctic in environmentally responsible ways.

The Canadian and U.S. governments said they are launching processes to identify sustainable shipping lanes throughout Arctic waters, including the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas.

With files from The Associated Press

Read more about:</s>President Obama took the "historic step" to ban offshore oil drilling in the Arctic and off the Atlantic coastline, the White House announced Tuesday afternoon.

The action represents a partnership between the United States and Canada "to build a strong Arctic economy, preserve a healthy Arctic ecosystem and protect our fragile Arctic waters, including designating the bulk of our Arctic water and certain areas in the Atlantic Ocean as indefinitely off limits to future oil and gas leasing," the White House said.

The actions, and Canada's parallel actions, reflect the scientific assessment that, "even with the high safety standards that both our countries have put in place, the risks of an oil spill in this region are significant and our ability to clean up from a spill in the region's harsh conditions is limited," the White House said.

"By contrast, it would take decades to fully develop the production infrastructure necessary for any large-scale oil and gas leasing production in the region — at a time when we need to continue to move decisively away from fossil fuels," according to the statement.

"In 2015, just 0.1 percent of U.S. federal offshore crude production came from the Arctic, and Department of Interior analysis shows that, at current oil prices, significant production in the Arctic will not occur," the statement added. "That's why looking forward, we must continue to focus on economic empowerment for Arctic communities beyond this one sector.

"My administration has proposed and directed unprecedented federal investments in the region, but more must be done – by the federal government, the private sector and philanthropy — to enhance infrastructure and our collective security, such as the acquisition of additional icebreaking capacity, and to lay the groundwork for economic growth in the industries of the future," Obama said.

The administration released a five-year drilling plan last month that withheld federal drilling leases in the Arctic, but many environmental groups said it didn't go far enough.

In his draft proposal, Obama had included drilling in the Atlantic for the first time, but that was removed from the final five-year plan. The energy industry and states have been pressuring the government to open up the Atlantic coast for years.

The move is "deeply frustrating and one that will mean a bleak economic future for Alaska," said Lucas Frances, a spokesman for the Arctic Energy Center, an industry trade group.

"The Arctic Energy Center's research has shown that a significant majority of native and Alaskan people support offshore energy development in the Arctic, in a large measure because of the essential role the industry plays in the region's economy," Frances said. "By designating Arctic waters off limits for energy development, the president has prioritized environmental concerns over the well-being of the American people."

The largest oil trade group in Washington, the American Petroleum Institute, said the decision moves the country in the wrong diection and vowed to press the incoming Trump administration to do away with the ban.

"We are hopeful the incoming administration will reverse this decision as the nation continues to need a robust strategy for developing offshore and onshore energy," said Erik Milito, the groups's director of upstream investment. "The U.S. offshore industry has a long history of safe operations that have advanced the energy security of our nation and contributed significantly to our nation's economy."

Meanwhile, environmental groups such as the Sierra Club celebrated Obama's decision, saying the ban would help prevent the next administration from harming the environment.

"By removing the Arctic and Atlantic oceans from the five-year plan, President Obama declared that the preservation of our waters from offshore drilling is paramount to protecting our beaches, the climate and coastal economies," said Sierra Club Director Michael Brune. "Today's announcement reaffirms that fact and prevents future administrations from destroying our waters and coastal communities."</s>HONOLULU — President Barack Obama on Tuesday designated the bulk of U.S.-owned waters in the Arctic Ocean and certain areas in the Atlantic Ocean as indefinitely off limits to future oil and gas leasing.

The move helps put some finishing touches on Obama’s environmental legacy while also testing President-elect Donald Trump’s promise to unleash the nation’s untapped energy reserves.

The White House announced the actions in conjunction with the government of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, which also placed a moratorium on new oil and gas leasing in its Arctic waters, subject to periodic review.

Obama is making use of an arcane provision in a 1953 law to ban offshore leases in the waters permanently. The statute says that “the president of the United States may, from time to time, withdraw from disposition any of the unleased lands of the outer Continental Shelf.”

Environmental groups hope the ban, despite relying on executive powers, will be difficult for future presidents to reverse. The White House said it’s confident the president’s directive will withstand legal challenge and said the language of the statute provides no authority for subsequent presidents to “unwithdraw” waters from future lease sales.

The Atlantic waters placed off limits to new oil and gas leasing are 31 canyons stretching off the coast of New England south to Virginia.

The administration cited environmental concerns to justify the moratorium. The president also issued a statement noting the minimal level of fuel production occurring in the Arctic. Obama said just 0.1 percent of offshore crude production came from the Arctic in 2015, and at current oil prices, significant production would not occur in future decades.

“That’s why looking forward, we must continue to focus on economic empowerment for Arctic communities beyond this one sector,” Obama said.

Still, industry officials objected to Obama’s proclamation, calling it “last minute political rhetoric.”

“Instead of building on our nation’s position as a global energy leader, today’s unilateral mandate could put America back on a path of energy dependence for decades to come,” said Dan Naatz of the Independent Petroleum Association of America.

In issuing a permanent ban, Obama appears to be trying to tie the hands of his successor. Trump has vowed a domestic energy revolution and is filling his Cabinet with nominees deeply opposed to Obama’s environmental and climate change actions.

Environmental groups were calling for a permanent ban even before the presidential election, but Trump’s victory has provided greater urgency for them and for businesses that rely on tourism and fishing. Trump has said he intends to use all available fuel reserves for energy self-sufficiency — and that it’s time to open up offshore drilling.

This decision will help protect existing lucrative coastal tourism and fishing businesses from offshore drilling, which promises smaller, short-lived returns and threatens coastal livelihoods,” said Jacqueline Savitz, a senior vice president at the advocacy group, Oceana. “The people of the Atlantic coast refused to allow their way of life to be compromised and we commend their hard work making their voices heard in Washington.”</s>U.S. President Barack Obama on Tuesday permanently banned new oil and gas drilling in federal waters in the Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, in one of his last environmental pushes before he leaves office next month.

In protecting the waters, Mr. Obama used a 1950s-era law called the Outer Continental Shelf Act that allows presidents to limit areas from mineral leasing and drilling. Environmental groups said Mr. Obama’s use of the law meant the incoming administration of Republican president-elect Donald Trump could not simply reverse the action but would have to fight it in the courts.

The ban affects federal waters off Alaska in the Chukchi Sea and most of the Beaufort Sea and in the Atlantic from New England to Chesapeake Bay.

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The move came in a joint announcement by Mr. Obama and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to launch “actions ensuring a strong, sustainable and viable Arctic economy and ecosystem.”

Mr. Obama said in a statement on Tuesday the joint actions “reflect the scientific assessment that, even with the high safety standards that both our countries have put in place, the risks of an oil spill in this region are significant and our ability to clean up from a spill in the region’s harsh conditions is limited.”

Canada will designate all Arctic Canadian waters as indefinitely off limits to future offshore Arctic oil and gas licensing, to be reviewed every five years through a climate and marine science-based life-cycle assessment.

The law under which Mr. Obama is acting enables a president to withdraw certain areas from leasing or drilling “for any public purpose,” such as to limit the impacts of climate change, according to a legal briefing by the Natural Resources Defense Council and Earth Justice.

Under that law, a president is not authorized to “undo” a previous withdrawal, making it more difficult for Mr. Trump to target without a lawsuit.

“No president has ever tried to undo a permanent withdrawal of an ocean area from leasing eligibility,” said Niel Lawrence, Alaska director and lawyer at the Natural Resources Defense Council.

The provision has been used by six presidents from both parties over the past 65 years, including to withdraw as much as several hundred million acres at a time, he said.

The American Petroleum Institute oil-industry group disagreed about the permanence of the ban and said Mr. Trump could likely use a presidential memorandum to lift the ban.

“We are hopeful the incoming administration will reverse this decision as the nation continues to need a robust strategy for developing offshore and onshore energy,” said Erik Milito, API’s upstream director.

Even if Mr. Trump attempts to battle the move, few energy companies have expressed a desire to drill anytime soon off the coasts thanks to abundant cheap shale oil in North Dakota and Texas.

Exploratory drilling in the Arctic is expensive and risky. Shell Oil ended its quest to explore in harsh Arctic waters in 2015, after a vessel it was using suffered a gash and environmentalists had uncovered a law that limited its drilling.

In 2015, just 0.1 per cent of U.S. federal offshore crude production came from the Arctic. At current oil prices, significant production in the Arctic will not occur, according to a U.S. Department of Interior analysis.

On the Atlantic coast, local groups have opposed offshore drilling and would fight the Trump administration’s attempts to open it up.

“The people of the Atlantic coast have refused to allow their way of life to be compromised,” said Jacqueline Savitz, senior vice-president of Florida-based ocean conservancy group Oceana.

She said the Obama administration’s move to protect the Atlantic coast was a “smart business decision” since it would protect the lucrative tourism and fishing industries of U.S. East Coast communities.</s>WASHINGTON - U.S. President Barack Obama on Tuesday banned new oil and gas drilling in federal waters in the Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, in a push to leave his stamp on the environment before Republican Donald Trump takes office next month.

Obama used a 1950s-era law called the Outer Continental Shelf Act that allows presidents to limit areas from mineral leasing and drilling. Environmental groups said that meant Trump's incoming administration would have to go court if it sought to reverse the move.

The ban affects 115 million acres (46.5 million hectares) of federal waters off Alaska in the Chukchi Sea and most of the Beaufort Sea and 3.8 million acres (1.5 million hectares) in the Atlantic from New England to Chesapeake Bay.

Trump, who succeeds Obama on Jan. 20, has said he would expand offshore oil and gas drilling. A recent memo from his energy transition team said his policy could increase production in the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas, as well as the mid- and south Atlantic.

A Trump representative did not immediately comment on the announcement.

Even if Trump tries to fight the move, few energy companies have expressed a desire to drill anytime soon off the coasts thanks to abundant cheap shale oil in North Dakota and Texas.

Exploratory drilling in the Arctic is expensive and risky. Shell Oil ended its quest to explore in harsh Arctic waters in 2015, after a vessel it was using suffered a gash and environmentalists uncovered a law that limited its drilling.

The American Petroleum Institute oil industry group disagreed about the permanence of the ban and said Trump could likely use a presidential memorandum to lift it.

"We are hopeful the incoming administration will reverse this decision as the nation continues to need a robust strategy for developing offshore and onshore energy," said Erik Milito, API's upstream director.

The White House and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau jointly announced their move to launch "actions ensuring a strong, sustainable and viable Arctic economy and ecosystem."

Obama said in a statement that the joint actions "reflect the scientific assessment that, even with the high safety standards that both our countries have put in place, the risks of an oil spill in this region are significant and our ability to clean up from a spill in the region's harsh conditions is limited."

Canada will designate all Arctic Canadian waters as indefinitely off limits to future offshore Arctic oil and gas licensing, to be reviewed every five years through a climate and marine science-based life-cycle assessment.

The law under which Obama is acting enables a president to withdraw certain areas from leasing or drilling "for any public purpose," such as to limit the impacts of climate change, according to a legal briefing by the Natural Resources Defense Council and Earth Justice.

Under that law, a president is not authorized to "undo" a previous withdrawal, making it more difficult for Trump to target without a lawsuit.

"No president has ever tried to undo a permanent withdrawal of an ocean area from leasing eligibility," said Niel Lawrence, Alaska director and attorney at the Natural Resources Defense Council.

The provision has been used by six presidents from both parties over the past 65 years, including to withdraw as much as several hundred million acres at a time, he said.

In 2015, just 0.1 percent of U.S. federal offshore crude production came from the Arctic. At current oil prices, significant production in the Arctic will not occur, according to a Department of Interior analysis.

There is currently no crude oil production in the Canadian Arctic. A number of companies including Chevron Corp, ConocoPhillips and Imperial Oil hold exploration licenses, but all three have put their drilling plans on hold, partly because of weak global oil prices.

On the U.S. Atlantic coast, local groups have opposed offshore drilling and would fight the Trump administration's attempts to open it up.

"The people of the Atlantic coast have refused to allow their way of life to be compromised," said Jacqueline Savitz, senior vice president of Florida-based ocean conservancy group Oceana.

She said the Obama administration move to protect the Atlantic coast was a "smart business decision" since it would protect the lucrative tourism and fishing industries of East Coast communities. (Reporting by Timothy Gardner and Valerie Volcovici; Additional reporting by Andrea Hopkins in Ottawa; Editing by Peter Cooney)</s>Obama bans future oil leases in much of Arctic, Atlantic

HONOLULU -- President Barack Obama on Tuesday designated the bulk of U.S.-owned waters in the Arctic Ocean and certain areas in the Atlantic Ocean as indefinitely off limits to future oil and gas leasing.

The move helps put some finishing touches on Obama's environmental legacy while also testing President-elect Donald Trump's promise to unleash the nation's untapped energy reserves.

The White House announced the actions in conjunction with the government of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, which also placed a moratorium on new oil and gas leasing in its Arctic waters, subject to periodic review.

Obama is making use of an arcane provision in a 1953 law to ban offshore leases in the waters permanently. The statute says that "the president of the United States may, from time to time, withdraw from disposition any of the unleased lands of the outer Continental Shelf."

Environmental groups hope the ban, despite relying on executive powers, will be difficult for future presidents to reverse. The White House said it's confident the president's order will withstand legal challenge and said the language of the statute provides no authority for subsequent presidents to undo permanent withdrawals.

The Atlantic waters placed off limits to new oil and gas leasing are 31 canyons stretching off the coast of New England south to Virginia, though some had hoped for a more extensive ban that would have extended further south.

The administration cited environmental concerns in both regions to justify the moratorium. Obama also cited the importance of the Chukchi and Beaufort seas in providing subsistence for native Alaskans and the vulnerability of the ecosystem to an oil spill to justify his directive.

Obama also noted the level of fuel production occurring in the Arctic. Obama said just 0.1 percent of offshore crude production came from the Arctic in 2015, and at current oil prices, significant production would not occur in future decades.

"That's why looking forward, we must continue to focus on economic empowerment for Arctic communities beyond this one sector," Obama said.

Still, industry officials objected to Obama's memorandum, calling it "last minute political rhetoric."

"Instead of building on our nation's position as a global energy leader, today's unilateral mandate could put America back on a path of energy dependence for decades to come," said Dan Naatz of the Independent Petroleum Association of America.

And Alaska Gov. Bill Walker, an independent, said Obama's move marginalized local voices. He said no one is more invested than Alaskans in making sure Arctic habitats are protected.

"To lock it up against any further exploration or development activity is akin to saying that the voices of activists who live in Lower 48 cities have a greater stake than those to whom the Arctic is our front yard and our back yard," he said in a statement.</s>WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama moved to solidify his environmental legacy Monday by withdrawing hundreds of millions of acres of federally owned land in the Arctic and Atlantic Ocean from future offshore oil and gas drilling.

Obama used a little-known law called the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to protect large portions of the Chukchi and Beaufort seas in the Arctic and a string of canyons in the Atlantic stretching from Massachusetts to Virginia from oil exploration and the potential for spills.

The announcement by the White House late in the afternoon was coordinated with similar steps being taken by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to shield large areas of that nation's Arctic waters from drilling. Neither measure affects leases already held by oil and gas companies and drilling activity in state waters.

"These actions, and Canada's parallel actions, protect a sensitive and unique ecosystem that is unlike any other region on earth," the White House said in a statement. "They reflect the scientific assessment that, even with the high safety standards that both our countries have put in place, the risks of an oil spill in this region are significant and our ability to clean up from a spill in the region's harsh conditions is limited.

White House officials described their actions to make the areas off limits to future oil and gas exploration and drilling as indefinite. Officials said the withdrawals under Section 12-A of the 1953 act used by presidents dating to Dwight Eisenhower cannot be undone by an incoming president. It is not clear if a Republican-controlled Congress can rescind Obama's action.

"There is a precedent of more than half a century of this authority being utilized by presidents of both parties," a White House aide said. "There is no authority for subsequent presidents to un-withdraw. ... I can't speak to what a future Congress will do."

"The U.S. is not acting alone today. Canada is acting to put an indefinite stop to activity in its waters as well," the aide said. "With Canada, we send a powerful signal and reinforce our commitment to work together."

U.S. and Canadian officials have negotiated for months to reach a joint understanding on how to manage adjacent areas in the ocean in an effort to make the new protections as sweeping and politically durable as possible. Meanwhile, advocacy groups lobbied Obama to ban oil and gas leasing in the Arctic entirely.

Obama already invoked the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to safeguard Alaska's Bristol Bay in 2014, and again last year to protect part of Alaska's Arctic coast. The president has protected 125 million acres in the region in the last two years, according to a fact sheet issued by the White House.

The Beaufort and Chukchi seas are habitat for several species listed as endangered and species that are candidates for the endangered species, including the bowhead whale, fin whale, Pacific walrus and polar bear. Concern for the animals has heightened as the Arctic warms faster than anywhere else in the world and sea ice the bears use to hunt continues to melt.

The underwater canyons protected by the president cover nearly 4 million acres across the Atlantic continental shelf break, "running from Heezen Canyon offshore New England to Norfolk Canyon offshore the Chesapeake Bay," according to a separate fact sheet.

They are widely recognized as major biodiversity hotspots that are critical to fisheries. The canyons provide deep water corals used by a wide array of fish. The area also provides habitat "for . . . deepwater corals, deep diving beaked whales, commercially valuable fishes, and significant numbers of habitat-forming soft and hard corals, sponges, and crabs," the White House said.

The American Petroleum Institute denounced the decision. "The administration's decision to remove key Arctic and Atlantic offshore areas from future leasing consideration ignores congressional intent, our national security, and vital, good-paying job opportunities for our shipyards, unions, and businesses of all types across the country," said Erik Milito, the group's Upstream director.

"Our national security depends on our ability to produce oil and natural gas here in the United States," Milito said. "This proposal would take us in the wrong direction just as we have become world leader in production and refining of oil and natural gas and in reduction of carbon emissions."

Contradicting the White House's statement, Milito said George W. Bush removed previous 12-A withdrawal areas with a memorandum and made all but marine sanctuaries available for leasing. "We are hopeful the incoming administration will reverse this decision as the nation continues to need a robust strategy for developing offshore and onshore energy," he said.

But a wide range of conservation groups hailed the decision. League of Conservation Voters President Gene Karpinski called it "an incredible holiday gift," saying that "an oil spill in these pristine waters would be devastating to the wildlife and people who live in the region."

Rhea Suh, president of the Natural Resources Defense Council, called it "a historic victory in our fight to save our Arctic and Atlantic waters, marine life, coastal communities and all they support."

Carter Roberts, president and chief executive of the World Wildlife Fund, applauded what he called "a bold decision" that "signals some places are just too important not to protect."

Oil production in the Arctic represents a tenth of one percent of the nation's oil production overall, the White House said. The area is so sensitive and so remote that the economics of exploration is costly.

Shell, which said in September 2015 that it would shelve drilling plans after spending $7 billion and not finding significant amounts of oil, still has one remaining lease in the Chukchi Sea where it drilled a well earlier last year. Shell is also part of a joint venture with Italian oil giant ENI and Spanish firm Repsol in the Beaufort Sea that holds 13 leases.

Shell held other leases in the Beaufort Sea, which the company transferred to the Arctic Slope Regional Corp., a company belonging to the Native Americans in the region.

An earlier plan to allow limited drilling off the Atlantic coast was shelved after state governments along the southern Atlantic coasts - including Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia - expressed worries over the effect on their beaches, tourist industry and environmentally sensitive marsh.

The Navy also objected. The Pentagon provided Interior with a map "that identifies locations . . . areas where the [Defense's] offshore readiness activities are not compatible, partially compatible or minimally impacted by oil and gas activities," department spokesman Matthew Allen said. The map included nearly the entire proposed drilling area.

Live training exercises are conducted off the Atlantic coast, "from unit level training to major joint service and fleet exercises," Allen said in a statement. "These live training events are fundamental to the ability of our airmen, sailors, and marines to attain and sustain the highest levels of military readiness."

The Obama administration eventually closed the Atlantic to drilling for five years.

President-elect Donald Trump could counter Obama's plan with his own five-year plan, but even so it would be years before drilling could start.

The president-elect's authority to undo a permanent prohibition is unclear. But Congress, controlled by Republicans, could move to rescind the withdrawal of federal lands from oil and gas exploration.</s>Barack Obama has permanently banned new oil and gas drilling in most US-owned waters in the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, a last-ditch effort to lock in environmental protections before he hands over to Donald Trump.

Obama used a 1953 law that allows presidents to block the sale of new offshore drilling and mining rights and makes it difficult for their successors to reverse the decision.

However, Obama’s ban – affecting federal waters off Alaska in the Chukchi Sea and most of the Beaufort Sea and in the Atlantic from New England to Chesapeake Bay – is unprecedented in scale and could be challenged by Trump in court.

The president-elect has vowed to unleash the nation’s untapped energy reserves and exploit fossil fuels. He has previously questioned the science of climate change, threatened to tear up the Paris climate agreement and appointed climate-change deniers in his cabinet.

This has led to a scramble from environmentalists calling on Obama to impose whatever regulations and executive orders he can to protect his climate legacy.

Tuesday’s move came in a joint announcement by Obama and Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau, who also put a moratorium on new oil and gas leasing in its Arctic waters, subject to periodic review.

Obama, currently on holiday in Hawaii and with only a month left in office, said in a statement: “These actions, and Canada’s parallel actions, protect a sensitive and unique ecosystem that is unlike any other region on earth. They reflect the scientific assessment that, even with the high safety standards that both our countries have put in place, the risks of an oil spill in this region are significant and our ability to clean up from a spill in the region’s harsh conditions is limited.

“By contrast, it would take decades to fully develop the production infrastructure necessary for any large-scale oil and gas leasing production in the region – at a time when we need to continue to move decisively away from fossil fuels.”

In 2015, just 0.1% of US federal offshore crude production came from the Arctic. A Department of Interior analysis shows that, at current oil prices, significant production in the Arctic will not occur. “That’s why looking forward, we must continue to focus on economic empowerment for Arctic communities beyond this one sector.”

Campaigners welcomed the announcement. Jacqueline Savitz, a senior vice-president at the advocacy group, Oceana, told the Associated Press: “This decision will help protect existing lucrative coastal tourism and fishing businesses from offshore drilling, which promises smaller, short-lived returns and threatens coastal livelihoods.

“The people of the Atlantic coast refused to allow their way of life to be compromised and we commend their hard work making their voices heard in Washington.”

Few energy companies have expressed a wish to drill any time soon off the coasts thanks to abundant cheap shale oil in North Dakota and Texas. Exploratory drilling in the Arctic is costly and risky.

But with Trump in the White House, the obscure law could face a challenge. Dan Naatz of the Independent Petroleum Association of America told the Associated Press: “Instead of building on our nation’s position as a global energy leader, today’s unilateral mandate could put America back on a path of energy dependence for decades to come.”

And Erik Milito, upstream director at the American Petroleum Institute, told Reuters: “We are hopeful the incoming administration will reverse this decision as the nation continues to need a robust strategy for developing offshore and onshore energy.”

Canada will designate all Arctic Canadian waters as indefinitely off limits to future offshore Arctic oil and gas licensing, to be reviewed every five years through a climate and marine science-based life-cycle assessment.</s>HONOLULU — President Barack Obama has designated the bulk of U.S.-owned waters in the Arctic Ocean and certain areas in the Atlantic Ocean as indefinitely off limits to future oil and gas leasing.

The move on Tuesday helps put some finishing touches on Obama's environmental legacy while also testing President-elect Donald Trump's promise to unleash the nation's untapped energy reserves.

Environmental groups hope the ban, despite relying on executive powers, will be difficult for future presidents to reverse.

The White House says Obama has used a provision in a 1953 law to ban offshore leases in the waters permanently.

The Atlantic waters placed off limits are 31 canyons stretching off the coast of New England south to Virginia.

Canada is also placing a moratorium on new leasing in its Arctic waters.</s>HONOLULU — President Barack Obama is expected to order wide swaths of the Atlantic and Arctic oceans placed permanently off-limits for oil drilling, people briefed on the administration’s plan said, in an 11th-hour push for environmental protection before he leaves office.

Obama was planning to announce the move on Tuesday, said the individuals, who requested anonymity to discuss the decision before the announcement. The White House declined to comment.

The move helps put some finishing touches on Obama’s environmental legacy while also testing President-elect Donald Trump’s promise to unleash the nation’s untapped oil and natural gas reserves. Environmental groups were hoping the ban, despite relying on executive powers, will be difficult for a future president to reverse.

Obama is expected to use an arcane provision in a 1953 law to ban offshore leases in the waters permanently. The statute says that “the president of the United States may, from time to time, withdraw from disposition any of the unleased lands of the outer Continental Shelf.”

A permanent ban would mark the culmination of a slow reversal by Obama’s administration, which had been considering opening a broad area of the Atlantic Coast to drilling, but then backed away from that idea. Earlier this year, the administration removed potential Atlantic lease sales from its blueprint for offshore drilling. But that ban only applies to a five-year period starting in 2017, and could be more easily reversed by Trump in his own five-year blueprint.

In issuing a permanent ban, Obama appears to be trying to tie the hands of his successor. Trump has vowed a domestic energy revolution and is filling his Cabinet with nominees deeply opposed to Obama’s environmental and climate change actions.

Along the Atlantic seaboard, states have had mixed reactions to the possibility of drilling. In Florida, the administration of Gov. Rick Scott, a Trump supporter, has raised concerns about the possible effects to the state’s beaches and fishing industry, and residents in North Carolina’s Outer Banks protested a move toward ocean drilling. But officials in South Carolina and Virginia have expressed support for the economic benefit of new oil jobs.

Environmental groups were calling for a permanent ban even before the presidential election, but Trump’s victory has provided greater urgency for them and for businesses that rely on tourism and fishing. Trump has said that he intends to use all available fuel reserves for energy self-sufficiency — and that it’s time to be opening up offshore drilling.

Industry groups are confident that the ban will not stand and Trump can simply issue a new proclamation after taking office that would allow for oil and gas production in the Atlantic. They point to President George W. Bush, who in July 2008 lifted some executive bans on Outer Continental Shelf leasing and drilling.

“There’s no such thing as a permanent ban,” said Erik Milito, a policy director at the American Petroleum Institute.

But Niel Lawrence, a senior attorney at the Natural Resources Defense Council, said the result of a Trump proclamation isn’t so clear-cut. He said the statute says a president can withdraw waters from the country’s leasing plans and “it doesn’t say you can put back in.”

If Trump does issue an order reversing Obama’s proclamation, it would be up to environmental groups or others to challenge his actions in court. If he doesn’t, then it would be up to Congress to intervene.

“My guess is that Congress has better things to do,” Lawrence said. “The industry is not clamoring to get into these places. Any return on investment is decades away.”

The Trump administration could also take a more gradual approach of changing the nation’s five-year leasing plan to put the waters back in play. That would buy groups on both sides time to make their case about the need or lack thereof to drill off the Atlantic coast.

Milito said keeping oil and gas production in the Atlantic as an option is important in the event U.S. reserves elsewhere are depleted. He said it’s important not to have to rely on other countries for oil and gas supplies to ensure affordability and availability.

“We have to look to the future so that we can maintain our status as an energy superpower and so that we can continue to rely on U.S. oil and gas production to fulfill our economic needs,” Milito said.

Fourteen senators had signed a letter calling on Obama to ban offshore drilling permanently. Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., disputed the notion that future administrations could undo Obama’s order without congressional approval.

“Declaring the Atlantic and the Arctic off-limits to Big Oil is a step the president can take immediately to show that we as a nation are committed to the future of our shore towns, our beaches, and our environment,” Menendez said.
U.S. President Barack Obama and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau jointly ban offshore oil drilling in the Arctic Ocean and parts of the Atlantic coast.