The Biden has reversed the Trump department's effort to expand the fossil fuel development, as it has decided to suspend the oil and gas leases that were handed out in an Alaska wildlife refuge during the final days of the Trump administration.

Trump's Interior Department sold the leases in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) in January over the objections of environmentalists and indigenous groups. During his campaign, Biden had pledged to protect the 19.6 million-acre pristine habitat for polar bears, caribou, and migratory birds.

White House National Climate Advisor Gina McCarthy said Biden was "grateful for the prompt action by the Department of the Interior," and said the Trump administration's hastily-held auction of oil and gas leases in the refuge "could have changed the character of this special place forever."

White House's decision comes as a setback for the Alaskan State Government, which had hoped to open an enormous refuge would help revive its declining oil industry.

Biden's Interior Department said it had notified the leaseholders, which include an Alaska state agency.