President Joe Biden is moving to ban new offshore oil and gas drilling in most US coastal waters, a last-minute effort to block action by the incoming Trump administration may have to expand offshore drilling.
Mr. Biden, whose term ends in two weeks, said he is using authority under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to protect offshore areas on both 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 rent.
“My decision reflects what coastal communities, businesses and beachgoers have long known: that drilling off these coasts could cause irreversible damage to places we love and is not necessary to meet our nation's energy needs,” Biden said in a statement Monday.
Biden's orders would not affect large areas of the Gulf of Mexico, where most US offshore drilling takes place, but would protect coastlines along California, Florida and other states from future drilling.
Mr Biden's actions, which protect nearly 253 million hectares of federal waters, could be difficult for President-elect Donald Trump to release, as they would likely require an act of Congress recall. The 72-year-old law announced by Biden allows the president to withdraw parts of the outer continental shelf from mineral leases, including leases for drilling for oil and gas. , if the areas are considered too sensitive for drilling.
Trump himself has a complicated history on offshore drilling. He signed a memo in 2020 ordering the Secretary of the Interior to ban drilling in the waters off the coasts of Florida, and off the coasts of Georgia and South Carolina until 2032.
Earlier in his term, Trump had initially moved to greatly expand offshore drilling, before backing down amid widespread opposition in Florida and other coastal states.
Trump said Monday, after being inaugurated on January 20, that Biden's drilling ban “will be changed on day one.” “
“I will ban it immediately,” Trump told conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt. “I have the right to ban it.”
He said that “the US has oil and gas on a scale that no one else has and we are going to take advantage of it. It is truly our greatest economic asset.”
Trump has vowed to establish what he calls America's “energy dominance” around the world as he seeks to boost US oil and gas drilling and shift away from Biden's focus on climate change.
Environmental advocates praised Mr. Biden's action, saying that new oil and gas drilling must be drastically reduced to reduce greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to global warming. 2024 was the hottest 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 US coastlines are home to tens of millions of Americans and provide supporting billions of dollars of economic activity that depends on a clean, abundant environment. wildlife and thriving fisheries.
In balancing the multiple uses of America's oceans, Biden said it is clear that the areas he is withdrawing from fossil fuel use show “very little potential” that does not justify the risks environmental, public health and economic impacts resulting from new leases and drilling.
The National Oceanic Industries Association, which represents offshore drillers, called Biden's decision “a strategic error, driven not by science or poll mandate, but by political motives.”
“This move directly undermines America's energy consumers and undermines the great benefits of a thriving domestic energy sector,” said Erik Milito, the group's president.
Even if there is no immediate interest in drilling in some offshore areas, “it is critical for the federal government to maintain the flexibility to adapt” to unexpected global events such as a Russian attack Ukraine, he said.
Biden has proposed as many as three oil and gas lease sales in the Gulf of Mexico, but none in Alaska, as he tries to navigate between energy companies seeking more oil and gas production and environmental activists which requires it to shut down new offshore drilling. fight against climate change.
Biden, who has a decision approval of the large Willow oil project in Alaska it drew strong criticism from environmental groups, which had previously restricted offshore drilling in other parts of Alaska and the Arctic Ocean.
Sandra Bundy, president of the Florida-based Atlantic Coast Defense Business Alliance, said she was “overwhelmed and grateful” for Mr. Biden's actions, which she said will protect the Eastern Seaboard for generations to come.
