22 January 2021 12:58 GMT Updated 27 January 2021 10:21 GMT in London US President Joe Biden has issued an executive order to halt plans for oil and gas exploration in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). The order places “a temporary moratorium on all activities of the Federal Government relating to the implementation of the Coastal Plain Oil and Gas Leasing Program” and requires the Interior Department to conduct a fresh review. ENERGY EXPLORED: SUBSCRIBE TO ACCELERATE Gain valuable insight into the global oil and gas industry's energy transition from ACCELERATE, the free weekly newsletter from Upstream and Recharge. The order also reinstated an Obama-era policy that had shut most federal offshore waters in the US Arctic and Northern Bering Sea to oil and gas exploration and restored the Northern Bering Sea Climate Resilience Area, reported ArcticToday.