In the first few hours of his second presidency, President Donald Trump issued an executive order that could pave the way for oil drilling in North Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, one of the last great wildernesses left in the US.

The U.S. Interior Department said on Wednesday a congressionally mandated oil and gas drilling lease auction in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge received no bids from energy companies. Outgoing President Joe Biden's administration billed the outcome as proof the 19 million-acre refuge,

Trump signed an executive order on his first day in office Monday, aligning with Alaska Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy for drilling in the state to expand.