A new Department of the Interior (DOI) report on oil and gas leasing in federal lands and waters advises the DOI’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to raise royalties, rental rates, and other fees on oil and gas companies but has not moved to halt new leasing entirely. During his 2020 presidential run, President Joe Biden’s campaign website claimed that his climate plan would include “banning new oil and gas permitting on public lands and waters.” The DOI report (pdf), issued in response to Biden’s Jan. 27 executive order, was quietly published on Black Friday after months of delays. DOI Secretary Deb Haaland claimed in March that the report would be released in “early summer.” Oil prices and gasoline prices have become a hot-button issue, with many blaming the Biden administration’s freeze on oil and gas leasing, shutdown of the Keystone XL pipeline, and other policies for helping to drive …