"Renewed investment in carbon energy is something the Secretary General has stood against whether it happens in any country, including the United States and the Gulf, anywhere, anywhere you want to see," Dujarric told a daily press briefing.
Dujarric said he would not comment on whether the US, giving its economic power, was setting a good example for other countries and declined to confirm if the secretary-general would raise the topic with President Joe Biden.
"I will not predict what conversations he [Secretary-General] will have," Dujarric said, nonetheless noting that he does not believe such projects are moving the world in the right direction.
On Monday, the US Interior Department greenlighted three out of five drilling site locations proposed by ConocoPhillips under its Willow Master Development Plan in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska (NPR-A).
The approval was given despite strong objections from environmental activists concerned about the potential consequences of the project on climate change.