Biden issues a ban on offshore oil and gas exploration in most US waters

President Joe Biden is moving to ban new offshore drilling for oil and gas in most U.S. coastal waters, a last-minute attempt to block potential action by the incoming Trump administration to expand offshore drilling.

Biden, whose term ends in two weeks, said he is using authority under the federal Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to protect marine areas along the east and west coasts, the eastern Gulf of Mexico and parts of Alaska’s northern Bering Sea from future oil and natural resources. Gas rental.

“My decision reflects what coastal communities, businesses, and beachgoers have long known: that drilling off these coasts can cause irreparable damage to the places we cherish and is unnecessary to meet our nation’s energy needs,” Biden said in a statement Monday.

Biden’s orders will not affect large swaths of the Gulf of Mexico, where most U.S. offshore drilling takes place, but they will protect coastlines along California, Florida and other states from future drilling.

Biden’s actions, which protect nearly 253 million hectares of federal waters, may be difficult for President-elect Donald Trump to undo, because they would likely require a congressional resolution to overturn them. The law cited by Biden from 72 years ago allows the president to withdraw parts of the outer continental shelf from mineral leasing, including leasing them for oil and gas exploration, if the areas are deemed too sensitive to drill.

Trump himself has a complicated history in offshore drilling. He signed a memorandum in 2020 directing the Secretary of the Interior to ban drilling in the waters off the coast of Florida, and off the coasts of Georgia and South Carolina until 2032.

Earlier in his term, Trump initially moved to dramatically expand offshore drilling operations, before backing down amid widespread opposition in Florida and other coastal states.

Trump announced Monday that after his inauguration on January 20, Biden’s drilling ban “will change on day one.”

“I will lift the ban immediately,” Trump told conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt. “I have the right to unblock him.”

He said the United States has “oil and gas at a level that no one else has and we will benefit from it. It is truly our greatest economic asset.”

Trump pledged to consolidate what he calls American “energy dominance” around the world as part of his effort to enhance oil and gas exploration operations in the United States and move away from Biden’s focus on climate change.

Environmental advocates praised Biden’s action, saying new oil and gas drilling must be sharply scaled back to reduce greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to global warming. 2024 was the hottest year in recorded history.

Biden’s actions build on the legacy of Democratic and Republican presidents to protect coastal waters from offshore drilling, Gordon said, adding that America’s coasts are home to tens of millions of Americans and support billions of dollars in economic activity that depends on a clean, abundant environment. Wildlife and thriving fisheries.

Weighing the multiple uses of America’s oceans, Biden said it was clear that areas divesting from fossil fuel use showed “relatively little potential” that did not justify the potential environmental, public health and economic risks that would come from new leasing and drilling.

The National Oceanic Industries Association, which represents offshore drilling companies, called Biden’s decision “a strategic mistake, not because of science or the mandate of voters, but politically motivated.”

“This move directly undermines American energy consumers and threatens the enormous benefits associated with our thriving domestic energy sector,” said Eric Milito, the group’s president.

He added that even if there is no immediate interest in drilling in some offshore areas, “it is important for the federal government to maintain the flexibility to adapt” to unexpected global events such as the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Biden has proposed as many as three oil and gas leasing sales in the Gulf of Mexico, but none in Alaska, as he tries to navigate between energy companies seeking to increase oil and gas production and environmental activists who want him to shut down new offshore drilling operations in the United States. Combating climate change.

Biden, whose decision Alaska’s massive willow oil project approved The move has drawn strong condemnation from environmental groups and has previously limited offshore drilling in other areas of Alaska and the Arctic Ocean.

Sandra Bondi, president of the Florida-based Business Alliance to Protect the Atlantic Coast, said she was “pleased and grateful” by Biden’s actions, which she said will protect the East Coast for generations to come.