U.S President Joe Biden is attempting to prohibit new offshore oil and gas drilling in most U.S coastal waters, in a last-ditch effort to thwart any action taken by the incoming Trump administration to increase offshore drilling.
Biden, whose term ends in two weeks, said he is exercising authority under the federal Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to protect offshore areas around the East and West coasts, the eastern Gulf of Mexico, and portions of Alaska’s Northern Bering Sea from future oil and gas leasing.
Biden’s orders would not affect large swaths of the Gulf of Mexico, where most U.S. offshore drilling occurs, but it would protect coastlines along California, Florida and other states from future drilling.
His actions, which protect more than 625 million acres of federal waters, could be difficult for President-elect Donald Trump to unwind, since they would likely require an act of Congress to repeal.
The 72-year-old law that Biden cited allows the president to withdraw portions of the outer continental shelf from mineral leasing, including leasing to drill for oil and gas, if the areas are deemed too sensitive to drill.
Incoming President, Donald Trump also has a complicated history on offshore drilling. He signed a memorandum in 2020 directing the Interior secretary to prohibit drilling in the waters off both Florida coasts, and off the coasts of Georgia and South Carolina until 2032.
Earlier in his term, Trump had initially moved to vastly expand offshore drilling, before retreating amid widespread opposition in Florida and other coastal states.
Trump on Monday declared that, after he’s inaugurated on Jan. 20, Biden’s drilling ban will “be changed on day one.”
According to him, the U.S has oil and gas at a level that nobody else has and it will be taken advantage of as it is a very great asset.
Trump has vowed to establish what he calls American “energy dominance” around the world as he seeks to boost U.S. oil and gas drilling and move away from Biden’s focus on climate change.
Environmental advocates hailed Biden’s action, saying new oil and gas drilling must be sharply curtailed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to global warming. 2024 was the hottest in recorded history.
The National Ocean Industries Association, which represents offshore drillers, called Biden’s decision “a strategic error, driven not by science or voter mandate, but by political motives.”
Biden has proposed up to three oil and gas lease sales in the Gulf of Mexico, but none in Alaska, as he tries to navigate between energy companies seeking greater oil and gas production and environmental activists who want him to shut down new offshore drilling in the fight against climate change.
A five-year drilling plan approved in 2023 includes proposed offshore sales in 2025, 2027 and 2029. The three lease sales are the minimum number the Democratic administration could legally offer if it wants to continue expanding offshore wind development.
Under the terms of a 2022 climate law, the government must offer at least 60 million acres of offshore oil and gas leases in any one-year period before it can offer offshore wind leases.
Biden, whose decision to approve the huge Willow oil project in Alaska drew strong condemnation from environmental groups, has previously limited offshore drilling in other areas of Alaska and the Arctic Ocean.
